Bougainville, Louis-Antoine, Comte de (1729-1811), was a French scientist and navigator who sailed around the world with scientists on the Boudeuse and Étoile between 1766 and 1769. His voyage opened the modern age of scientific exploration in the Pacific. After staying five months in Tahiti, Bougainville sailed westward via the New Hebrides to New Holland (now Australia), which he passed close to but did not see before surveying New Britain and New Guinea.
Bougainville was born on Nov. 12, 1729, in Paris. He died on Aug. 31, 1811.
