Saussure

Saussure HORACE BENEDICT DE, was born at Geneva in 1740. He took early to science, especially to botany, and at the age of twenty-two was appointed professor of philosophy in Geneva, resigning his chair to Pictet in 1786. He ascended Mont Blanc in 1787, and his work, Voyages dans les Alpes, served as a text-book for future investigators. His Essai sur l'Hygrometrie was one of the first attempts to apply scientific methods to atmospheric phenomena, and he bestowed much attention on the geological formation of Switzerland. He died prematurely in 1799.