Clément Georges Lemoine (16 January 1841 in Tonnerre – 13 November 1922 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 ...

) 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 hydrologist. He was the father of

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Paul Lemoine Paul Lemoine (March 28, 1878 – March 14, 1940) was a French geologist born in Paris. He was the son of chemist Georges Lemoine (1841-1922) and husband of phycologist Marie Lemoine (1887–1984). Career In 1902-03 he conducted geological s ...

(1878–1940). He studied at the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and the École des ponts et chaussées, obtaining a doctorate in physical sciences in 1865. For many years he was associated with the École Polytechnique in Paris, where he ultimately served as a professor of chemistry from 1898 to 1911.Prosopo
Sociétés savantes de France
biography In 1866 he began work as an engineer in charge of hydrometric services in the

Seine Basin ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...

. In 1881 he was appointed chief engineer of bridges and roads, and in 1901, was named inspector general of bridges and roads. He is credited with organizing a flood warning service throughout France. As a chemist he discovered

phosphorus sesquisulfide Phosphorus sesquisulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula . It was developed by Henri Sevene and Emile David Cahen in 1898 as part of their invention of friction matches that did not pose the health hazards of white phosphorus. This ye ...

, a compound that will later be used in the manufacture of

matches A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

. He continued research on the allotropic transformation of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

, and was also the author of works on

chemical equilibria In a chemical reaction, chemical equilibrium is the state in which both the reactants and products are present in concentrations which have no further tendency to change with time, so that there is no observable change in the properties of the sy ...

. In 1899 he became a member of the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

(chemistry section), of which in 1921, he was named its president.

Published works (selection)

* ''Recherches sur l'action du phosphore rouge sur le soufre'', 1875 – Research on the action of red phosphorus on

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

. * ''Équilibres chimiques entre l'hydrogène et la vapeur d'iode'', in Annales de chimie et de physique, 1877 – Chemical equilibria between

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

and

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

vapor. * ''Étude sur les équilibres chimiques'', in Encyclopédie chimique by

Edmond Frémy Edmond Frémy (; 28 February 1814 – 3 February 1894) was a French chemist. He is perhaps best known today for Frémy's salt, a strong oxidizing agent which he discovered in 1845. Fremy's salt is a long-lived free radical that finds use as a s ...

, 1881 – Study on chemical equilibria. * ''Dissociation du bromhydrate d'amylène sous de faibles pressions'', in Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences (CRAS), 1891 – Dissociation in

amylene Pentenes are alkenes with the chemical formula . Each contains one double bond within its molecular structure. Six different compounds are in this class, differing from each other by whether the carbon atoms are attached linearly or in a branched ...

hydrobromide under low pressure. * ''L'action chimique de la lumière comparée à celle de la chaleur'', in Revue scientifique, 1895 – Chemical action of light compared to that of heat. * ''Décomposition de l'eau oxygénée sous l'influence de la chaleur'', in Journal de chimie physique, 1914 – Decomposition of

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%� ...

under the influence of heat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemoine, Georges 1841 births 1922 deaths People from Yonne 19th-century French chemists French hydrologists École Polytechnique alumni École Polytechnique faculty Members of the French Academy of Sciences 20th-century French chemists