Antoine François Fourcroy (; 15 June 175516 December 1809) was a French

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and a contemporary of Antoine Lavoisier. Fourcroy collaborated with Lavoisier,

Guyton de Morveau Louis-Bernard Guyton, Baron de Morveau (also Louis-Bernard Guyton-Morveau after the French Revolution; 4 January 1737 – 2 January 1816) was a French chemist, politician, and aeronaut. He is credited with producing the first systematic method o ...

, and Claude Berthollet on the ''Méthode de nomenclature chimique'', a work that helped standardize

chemical nomenclature A chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The ...

Early life

Fourcroy was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, the son of an apothecary in the household of the Duke of Orléans. On the advice of the anatomist Félix Vicq-d'Azyr (1748–1794) he took up medical studies, and after many difficulties caused by lack of means he finally obtained his doctor's diploma in 1780. He taught chemistry from (1783–1787) at the Veterinary School of Alfort. Fourcroy's attention was turned specifically to

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

by J. B. M. Bucquet (1746–1780), the professor of chemistry at the Medical School of Paris. In 1784 Fourcroy was chosen to succeed P. J. Macquer (1718–1784) as lecturer in chemistry at the college of the Jardin du Roi, where his lectures attained great popularity.

Works

AF_FOURCROY_Système_des_connaissances_chimiques_et_de_leurs_applications

Chemical Work

Fourcroy was one of the earliest converts to the views of

Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (

The

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

's ''Catalogue of Scientific Papers'' enumerates fifty-nine memoirs by Fourcroy alone, and fifty-eight written with others, mostly Louis Nicolas Vauquelin. Fourcroy's 1785 publication, ''Entomologia Parisiensis, sive, Catalogus insectorum quae in agro Parisiensi reperiuntur ...'', co-written with Étienne Louis Geoffroy, was a major contribution to systematic

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

. Later with Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, he identified a metal in a platinum residue they called ‘''ptène''’.This name ‘ptene’ or ‘ptène’ was reported as an early synonym for

osmium Osmium (from Greek grc, ὀσμή, osme, smell, label=none) is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. It is a hard, brittle, bluish-white transition metal in the platinum group that is found as a trace element in alloys, mos ...

Biological and Neurochemical Work

Fourcroy's views and studies grew from Bucquet. Fourcroy was a critic of earlier use of chemistry in medicine and saw great importance in studying the chemical materials of plants and animals, particularly for medical use. The majority of this work was done alongside Vauquelin, who became Fourcroy's assistant in 1784. During this period of work with Vauquelin, Fourcroy founded his own journal: ''La Médecine éclairée par les sciences physiques, ou Journal des découvertes relatives aux differentes parties de l'art de guérir,'' which detailed his investigations of chemistry and body materials. Fourcroy was convinced that "the successes of chemistry would one day change the face of medicine and result in beneficial revolution." Although Fourcroy's name appears on a large number of chemical and also

physiological Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

and pathological memoirs, he was as much a teacher and an organizer as an original investigator. Beginning in 1791, Fourcroy would go on to publish three memoirs compounding his series of biological experiments, most of which had to do with the chemistry of the human brain. In his first, he described the conditions of the brains of the cadavers that he studied. In his second, he would recount his continuing chemical experimentation on the fatty matter in the brain, now known as

lipid Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

s, as well as the inorganic components present. By using newer methods than the alchemical tradition that had proceeded him, such as extraction and qualitative analysis, Fourcroy concluded that the brain was composed of fatty acids in combination with bases along with recording some physical properties of the substance. His third memoir was a continuation of the separations and extractions he performed on brain matter and addition to his growing compendium of the brain's chemical constituents. One of the most fruitful results of this work was the rediscovery of phosphorus in the brain, reintroducing the 1719 discovery by Johann Thomas Hensing. Fourcroy also had a prominent role in developing law that would affect medical education in France. Fourcroy collaborated with physician Francois Chaussier to create a report that would be the basis of the Law of 1794, which integrated medicine and surgery and established health schools that taught both of these fields to all students. Prior to this law, medical education was heterogeneous throughout France, with several different colleges and universities operating under varying standards. The law pushed by Fourcroy unified the French medical education system under centralized authority, and led to the issuing of national licensing years later.

Work in Laboratory and Medical Clinic Procedure

While observing the 18th century clinics of Fourcroy’s time, he observed several problems. Fourcroy noticed that physicians got accustomed to seeing the diseases of an individual patient but failed in considering a large number of cases comparatively. There was also practical problems with this idea, as physician’s individual practices were insufficient in accommodating for large numbers of people with large varieties of issues. To deal with this Fourcroy proposed a program in 1791 to establish more effective clinical laboratories. Along with proposing these hospitals, and the idea that they should be staffed by young physicians well versed in modern sciences, Fourcroy wanted to include material obtained in post-mortem examinations in analysis of humans and how they are affected by disease. This idea was important in linking clinical observations to post-mortem findings, allowing development of new medicine. Although many reform proposals of the time were ignored, Fourcroy had a degree of success because of his political positions. Ultimately, Fourcroy was able to set up a teaching laboratory at the Ecole de Sante in Paris, beginning the development of modern clinical laboratories.

Social Contributions

Outside the scope of his varied scientific work, Fourcroy was involved in the events taking place during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, beginning his participation in 1793, where he strived to make positive impacts to French education. By the end of that year, after holding several positions in the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

, he was elected as the president of the Jacobin party, taking a seat on the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety (french: link=no, Comité de salut public) was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. S ...

in the process, which he held for about ten months. He would subsequently hold other high ranking positions and directorships in educational institutes and museums during the revolutionary regime and

Napoleon's Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

government as well. As an important counselor to Bonaparte, Fourcroy was appointed Minister of Public Instruction in 1802, responsible for education in France at all levels, which he held until his death in December 1809.

Legacy

"The Chemical Revolution"

Fourcroy was not the first to publish the phrase " Chemical revolution," even Bucquet described new developments in pneumatic chemistry in 1778 as a "great revolution in chemistry." However, it was Fourcroy that began to better describe the term by lengthening the time scale and broadening the map of nations that were contributing to the Chemical revolution in his written works. It was Fourcroy who had initially noted the division that chemistry had undergone from natural history, concluding that the two studies no longer shared objectives nor methods. While natural historians of his era merely described and preserved that which they studied, as Fourcroy believed, it was chemists who now sought to uncover the most fundamental structures of the natural world by experimental analysis. In his publications, Fourcroy referred to many other contemporary chemists as well as those from other nations, proposing that the extensive chemical reform being done was a collaborative effort.

Awards and honors

In 1801, Fourcroy was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. On 16 December 1809, the very day on which he died in Paris, Fourcroy was created a count of the French empire. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Antoine-François de Fourcroy's 1787 publication entitled ''Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique'', published with colleagues Antoine Lavoisier, Claude Louis Berthollet, and Louis Bernard Guyton de Morveau, was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, presented at the Académie des Sciences (Paris) in 2015. It is believed that Cape Fourcroy, at the western tip of Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Australia, is named after Fourcroy. The cape was named during Baudin's expedition to Australia, and it is known that Baudin had a copy of one of Fourcroy's texts with him on the '' Géographe''.

Controversy

By his conduct as a member of the Convention, Fourcroy has been accused of contributing to Lavoisier's death.

Baron Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

, in his ''Eloge historique'' of Fourcroy, repelled such charges. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition: although active, though secret, participation cannot be proved against Fourcroy, "he can scarcely be acquitted of time-serving indifference." See the works in the Bibliography below for other opinions.

Modern References

In 2014,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

released a three episode documentary series about the search for the basic chemical elements, highlighting seven historical scientists in particular. In episode one of '' The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements'', "Out of Thin Air," Fourcroy's character is played by Yan Tual as he assists Lavoisier in his discovery of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

Bibliography

* Louis Bernard Guyton de Morveau, Jean-Henri Hassenfratz, Antoine-François Fourcroy, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, Pierre-Auguste Adet, Claude Louis Berthole
''Méthode de nomenclature chimique''
(Paris, 1787) * Fourcroy, A. ''The Philosophy of Chemistry'' (1792) * Fourcroy, A. ''A General System of Chemical Knowledge'' (11 volumes, 1801–1802) * Kersaint, G. Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Antoine François de Fourcroy, sa vie et son oeuvre, Editions du Muséum, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1966, p. 59 * Smeaton, W. "Fourcroy, 1755 -1809", Heffer & Sons, Cambridge, 1962, p. 58 – Discusses reasonable evidence that Fourcroy not only saved several physicians/scientists but also that he tried to save Lavoisier at the cost of his own safety

References

External links

Digital version of Entomologia Parisiensis at GallicaScanned works by Fourcroy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fourcroy, Antoine-Francois 1755 births 1809 deaths Scientists from Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 18th-century French chemists French entomologists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences 19th-century French chemists