Named in memory of Henri de Boulainvilliers (1658–1722), French historian and political writer who influenced intellectual developments in the French Enlightenment. Claiming that historical studies can supply the tools for analyzing the present state of society, he worked out a theory of comparative historical study which approached the later writings of Montesquieu {see planet  (7064)}. In 1683 he published his L’Idée d’un système général de la Nature, which anticipated Holbach’s {see planet  (6956)} Système de la Nature (1770). His Histoire de la religion et de la philosophie ancienne was published around 1700. (M 34347; M 34673) _ _.