G.L. Buffon 1707–1788 French Biologist, author of L'Histoire Naturelle considered Natural Selection and the similarities between humans and apes. Edmund Burke 1729–1797 Irish Parliamentarian and political philosopher, best known for pragmatism, considered important to both Enlightenment and conservative thinking. Dimitrie Cantemir 1673–1723 Moldavian Philosopher, historian, composer, musicologist, linguist, ethnographer, and geographer.