| Jean-Antoine Chaptal | |
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Jean-Antoine Chaptal
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| Born | June 4, 1756 Saint-Pierre-de-Nogaret, Lozère |
| Died | July 30, 1832 Paris |
| Nationality | French |
| Fields | chemistry |
Jean-Antoine Claude, comte Chaptal de Chanteloup (June 4, 1756 – July 30, 1832) was a French chemist and statesman. He established chemical works for the manufacture of the mineral acids, soda and other substances. In Élémens de Chymie [1] (published 1790) he coined a new word for the gas then known as "azote" or "mephitic air." Chaptal's word was nitrogène, which he named for nitre, the chemical which was needed for the production of nitric acid which had been found to contain the gas, and thus possibly (according to theory) to be the oxidized derivative of it. Chaptal's new term for the gas then quickly passed into English as nitrogen.
Chaptal was especially a popularizer of science, attempting to apply to industry and agriculture the discoveries of chemistry. In this way, he contributed largely to the development of modern industry. The process of adding sugar to unfermented wine in order to increase the final alcohol level is known as chaptalization after him.
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Born in Saint-Pierre-de-Nogaret, Lozère, as the son of an apothecary, he studied chemistry at the University of Montpellier, obtaining his doctorate in 1777, when he settled in Paris. In 1781 the States of Languedoc founded a chair of chemistry for him at the school of medicine in Montpellier, where he taught the theories of Antoine Lavoisier. The capital he acquired by the death of a wealthy uncle was employed in the establishment of chemical works for the manufacture of the mineral acids, alum, white-lead, soda and other substances.
His activities in applied science won the recognition of the French government, which presented him with lettres de noblesse, and the cordon of the Ordre de Saint-Michel.
During the French Revolution a publication by Chaptal, entitled Dialogue entre un montagnard et un girondin ("Dialogue between a Montagnard and a Girondist"), caused him to be arrested. He was, however, soon set free through the interventions of his friends. In 1793, he was charged with the management of the saltpetre works at Grenelle. In the following year he went to Montpellier, where he remained until 1797, when he returned to Paris.[2]
After the 18 Brumaire coup (November 9, 1799) he was made a councillor of state by the First Consul, and succeeded Lucien Bonaparte as Minister of the Interior (coinciding with the establishment of the First French Empire), in which capacity he established a chemical manufactory near Paris, a school of arts, and a society of industries; among many works in the fields of science and the arts, he reorganized the hospitals, introduced the metric system. A misunderstanding between him and Napoleon (who conferred upon him the title of count of Chanteloup) provoked Chaptal's retirement from office in 1804; but before the end of that year he was again received into favor by the emperor, who awarded him with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, and made him treasurer to the Senate.
On Napoleon's return from Elba (the Hundred Days), Chaptal was made director-general of commerce and manufactures and a Minister of State. After the Bourbon Restoration, he was forced to withdraw into private life, and his name was removed from the list of the Peers of France until 1819. In 1816, however, he was nominated a member of the French Academy of Sciences by Louis XVIII.
He died in Paris. His name is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.
Chaptal was especially a popularizer of science, attempting to apply to industry and agriculture the discoveries of chemistry. In this way, he contributed largely to the development of modern industry. The process of adding sugar to unfermented wine in order to increase the final alcohol level is known as chaptalization after him.
In addition to various articles, he wrote especially in the Annales de chimie:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Preceded by Lucien Bonaparte |
Minister of the Interior 1800 - 1804 |
Succeeded by Jean-Baptiste Nompère de Champagny |