27 septembre 1704
3 février 1780
Fils de Pierre Antoine Ier de Jaucourt et de Marie de Monginot, Louis de Jaucourt (1704-1780) appartient à la branche des Jaucourt d'Espeuilles, convertie à la Religion Réformée au XVIe siècle. Il est l'un des rares Jaucourt avant la Révolution à ne pas avoir suivi la carrière des armes. Il étudie la philosophie protestante à l'université de Genève (Suisse), puis les mathématiques et la physique à l'université de Cambridge (Royaume-Uni), enfin la médecine à l'université de Leyde (Pays-Bas). Il revient en France en 1736 et mène une vie d'érudit. Depuis 1728, Jaucourt participe à la rédaction et l’édition de plusieurs revues scientifiques et savantes, comme laBibliothèque raisonnée des ouvrages des savants, à laquelle il collabore de 1728 à 1740. Il rédige également sous le nom de M. de Neufville une Vie de Leibniz (Essais de théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l'homme et l'origine du mal , par M. Leibnitz [Vie de M. Leibnitz]), dont une première version parait en 1734 ; des rééditions, chaque fois augmentées, sont publiées en 1747 et 1760 ; ce dernier ouvrage lui vaut la nomination à l’Académie de Berlin (1764).
Il rédige un grand dictionnaire encyclopédique, leLexicon medicum universalis, en 6 tomes manuscrits et en latin. Mais le manuscrit, dont il n’existe pas de copie intégrale, disparaît dans le naufrage en 1750 du vaisseau qui l’amène à l’imprimeur hollandais.
A partir de 1752, il contribue à la rédaction de l'Encyclopédiede Diderot et d'Alembert, avec un premier article, « Bysse », dans le volume 2. Dès lors, et jusqu'à la fin de la publication de l'Encyclopédie, il rédige près du quart des articles des derniers tomes, soit près de 17 000 pour un total de 68 000. Ses contributions touchent tous les domaines du savoir (histoire, géographie, sciences, politique, astronomie), mais en particulier la médecine et la biologie. Il est l'auteur des articles « esclavage » et « traite des nègres » (demandant son abolition) en 1755, ou encore d’articles où il prend position sur des sujets délicats, tels que « guerre », « Inquisition », « monarchie », « patrie », « peuple » ou « presse ». Entouré de nombreux secrétaires et copistes, Jaucourt travaille sans relâche au service de l’Encyclopédie, en compilant et dictant jusqu’à quatre articles par jour. Il rédige également uneVie de Boerhaave, célèbre médecin néerlandais, ainsi que (avec Diderot et d’Alembert) lesSynonymes français. Il paye ses collaborateurs de sa propre poche, ce qui l’oblige même, en 1761, à vendre sa maison, située à Compiègne, au libraire Le Breton, l’un des éditeurs de l’Encyclopédie, qui lui accorde cependant le logement gratuit à vie. C’est dans cette maison qu'il meurt le 3 février 1780.
Jaucourt a été élu à l'Académie de Bordeaux en 1746, à l'Académie Royale de Suède le 31 août 1755, à la Royal Society de Londres le 8 janvier 1756 et à l'Académie de Berlin le 5 janvier 1764 en même temps que d'Alembert mais il n'a pas pu être élu à l'Académie de Paris en raison de son appartenance à la religion réformée. Il n'a contracté aucun mariage et on ne lui connaît aucune descendance.
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