Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d', a French geographer of the highest eminence, and perhaps unsurpassed in any age. This celebrated man was born at Paris on the 11th of July 1697. His passion for geographical research displayed itself from his earliest years. At the age of 12, while reading the Latin authors at college, he amused himself with drawing maps of the countries which they described. While he was thus busily employing himself one day in the class, his master observed and was about to punish him; but upon casting his eye upon the performance, he immediately judged him to be rather deserving of encouragement. D'Anville from this time devoted himself entirely to geography, particularly that of the ancient world; and at the age of 22 he began to delineate maps which attracted the attention of the most eminent geographers.

There are two modes by which problems in geography may be solved; one mathematically, by astronomical observation or geometrical measurement; the other historically, by the distances of places inferred from the narrative of historians and travellers. The former is certainly the most satisfactory, and would supersede every other, could it be extended over the whole surface of the globe. But notwithstanding the splendid progress made since the era of D'Anville, it is still far from such a degree of perfection. In all countries the bulk of the positions must be filled up, and in some the whole must be constructed from mere historical materials. Perhaps there is no department of science which requires greater extent of knowledge and accuracy of judgment. The variety of sources out of which the materials must be drawn is almost infinite; and their application is equally nice and difficult. It must be regulated by a complete acquaintance with all the modes of measurement used by all nations; by a careful notice of those errors and contradictions which naturally arise from a partial and limited observation; and by the marking of certain delicate processes in the human mind, by which space and distance are sometimes diminished, and more frequently exaggerated. In the skilful geographer, sound natural judgment, enlightened by experience, creates, as it were, a new sense, which enables him to see consistency amid a labyrinth of contradictions, and to elicit truth from a multitude of statements that are all erroneous. This art may be said to have originated with D'Anville, and to have been brought by him to its highest perfection.

The course of study on which D'Anville entered was truly immense. Works professedly geographical formed the least part of it; those of all the ancient and modern historians, travellers, narrators of every description, were assiduously examined. He studied, but only for the sake of the occasional geographical lights which they afforded, the philosophers, orators, and poets; for it was remarked that in perusing these masterpieces of human genius, he was totally indifferent to everything which did not tend to fix a geographical position. The object of this immense labour was to effect a complete reform in the science of geography; to banish the system of copying blindly from preceding maps, and never to fix a single position without a careful examination of all the authorities upon which it rested. By this process he detected many and great errors in the works of his most celebrated predecessors, while his own accuracy was soon attested on all sides by the travellers and mariners who had taken his works as their guide. His principles led him also to another innovation, which was that of omitting every name for which there existed no sufficient authority. The public were at first amazed at seeing vast spaces, which had before been covered with countries and cities, suddenly reduced to a perfect blank; but they soon recognised that this was the only accurate course, and that the defect lay in the science, not in the geographer.

D'Anville was at first employed in the humbler task of illustrating by maps the works of different travellers, such as Marchais, Charlevoix, Labat, and Duhalde. The question respecting the figure of the earth coming to be much agitated, he published, in 1735 and 1736, two treatises, with a view to illustrate it. But this attempt to solve a geometrical problem by historical materials was eminently unsuccessful. Maupertius having gone to measure a degree within the polar circle, the result was found directly opposite to our geographer's prediction. This, however, was considered by the intelligent public rather as fixing limits to his mode of investigation, than as implying any want of diligence and ability in its employment.

Any loss of reputation which this failure might occasion was completely retrieved by his map of Italy, published in 1743. It was marked by a species of investigation often employed by D'Anville with peculiar success. This consisted in the application of ancient materials to correct the existing geography. By the diligent study of the Latin authors he was enabled to trace numerous errors which had crept into the delineation of this interesting country. A trigonometrical survey which Pope Benedict XIV. almost immediately after caused to be made in the Ecclesiastical States confirmed, in a surprising degree, all these alterations. On this occasion he first set the example, which cannot be too much applauded, of accompanying the map with a memoir exhibiting a view of the data on which it had been constructed.

He now applied himself to ancient geography, always his favourite department, and the aspect of which, under his hands, was soon completely changed. He illustrated successively, by maps, all the countries known to the ancients, among which Egypt attracted his peculiar attention. To render these labours more extensively useful, he published in 1768 an Abridgment of Ancient Geography. His attention was finally turned to the middle ages, which were illustrated by his States formed in Europe after the fall of the Western Empire, and by some other works equally learned. Entirely devoted to geographical inquiries, the appearance of his successive publications formed the only events by which his life was diversified. From causes which are not explained, he was late in being admitted into the literary societies. In 1754, at the age of 60, he became a member of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres, whose transactions he enriched with many papers. In 1775 he received the only place in the Academy of Sciences which is allotted to geography; and in the same year he was appointed, without solicitation, first geographer to the king. But these honours came too late to gladden a life which was now drawing to its utmost verge. His last employment consisted in arranging his collection of maps, plans, and geographical materials. It was the most extensive in Europe, and had been purchased by the king, who, however, left him the use of it during his life. This task performed, he sunk into a total imbecility both of mind and body, which continued for two years, and ended only with his death in January 1782, when he had nearly reached the great age of 85.

D'Anville, with the qualities which form the great geographer, united all the essentials of an honourable and worthy character. The advancement of the science to which he had devoted himself formed almost the sole passion of his life; and, mingling little with society, he contracted peculiarities which solitary study is but too apt to engender. He talked with little interest on any subject except geography. This topic necessarily led to that of his own discoveries, on which he was never weary of expatiating. He boasted without any reserve of the services which he had rendered to that science, using not unfrequently the expression of Augustus, "I found it of brick and left it of marble." He, however, did full justice to the merit of those who excelled in other branches of knowledge; and to such as furnished him with materials for his researches his gratitude was unbounded. His published memoirs and dissertations amounted to 78, and his maps to 211.