Louis de Jaucourt
Louis de Jaucourt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 September 1704 Paris, France |
| Died | 3 February 1779 (aged 74) Compiègne, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, philosophe, writer |
| Known for | Encyclopédie |
Chevalier Louis de Jaucourt (French: [də ʒokuʁ]; 16 September 1704 – 3 February 1779) was a French scholar, and the most prolific contributor to the Encyclopédie. Voluntarily writing some 17,000 articles in all, his contributions amounted to around 25% of the entire work. His subjects included physiology, chemistry, botany, pathology, and political history.
Following the French Revolution, Jaucourt's legacy was largely overshadowed by those of Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and others. This was mainly because of his aristocratic background. By the mid-20th century, however, his work was receiving more scholarly attention.