Buache (1753)
Buache, Philippe (1700-1773). Considérations géographiques et physiques sur les nouvelles découvertes au nord de la[...] mer du Sud [...]. Paris: Imprimerie de Ballard, 1753.
Born in Paris in 1700, Philippe Buache decided to study drawing and won first prize in architecture at the Academy of Sciences in 1721. His skill in drawing enabled him to obtain a position at the map and chart depository of the Ministry of the Navy, where he would develop his genuine talent.
In 1729 Buache was appointed first geographer to the King, and the following year he was given the position of geographer in the Academy of Sciences, a position specially created for him. A scholar by temperament, he devoted himself exclusively to research until his appointment as professor of geography to the princes of France in 1755. He died in 1773.
Besides various atlases and reports, Buache published two works which are milestones in the annals of geography. In 1752 he published Essai de géographie physique, où l'on propose des vues générales sur l'espèce de charpente du globe, which had an enormous impact. In this essay, Buache inaugurated the theory of drainage systems to try to explain the structure of continents based on the study of mountain ranges, streams and rivers. The following year he published another work which was just as masterful even though it was not nearly as successful as its predecessor. In fact, in Considérations géographiques et physiques sur les nouvelles découvertes, Buache analyzed several explorers' accounts, from which he was able to deduce the existence of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and a land bridge linking Asia to America, even before they had been discovered.
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