Poor Old Lamarck

FIGURE 217. Jean Baptiste Lamarck was an important biologist who, unfortunately, is widely remembered for his incorrect theory of acquired traits. His chemistry, however, was very outmoded, and in his one chemistry text Lamarck tried to describe the repulsion between corpuscles of matter as they absorbed heat that caused them to expand and re-pel. (From Lamarck s 1794 Recherches Sur Les Causes Des Principaux Fans Physiqu s.) 

And so, we wish we could say some nice things about Lamarck s chemistry. However, his early contributions to biology and its museum display for the public were of great value and do honor to his memory. 

Gillispie (Editor iii Chief), Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Vol. VII, Charles Scribner s Sons, New York, 1973, pp. 584-593. His full name, for the record, was Jean Baptiste Pierre An-toine de Moncet de Lamarck. 

Neff and R.M. Cohen, The Sports Encyclopedia Baseball, St. Martin s Press, New York, 1989. 

Dickson, Baseball s Greatest Quotations, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1991, p. 427. 

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