Although Cuvier was trained as an anatomist, his contribution to the science of biology and the organization of plants and animals was so substantial that he is known today as the founder of comparative anatomy and paleontology. Cuvier was born in 1769 at Montbeliard, France, and studied theology as well as dissection and anatomy in Stuttgart, Germany. Upon completing his studies, Cuvier was awarded an assistant professorship in comparative anatomy at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. Later he held a professorship at the Collège de France and the chancellorship of the University of Paris.

Throughout his academic career, Cuvier conducted zoological research; in 1805, he published his first work, Lessons in Comparative Anatomy. After Cuvier discovered the fossil of a pterodactyl, which he named, he assembled a vast collection of animal fossils for research and study. As he continued his search, he realized that those fossils...