Georges Ville (23 March 1824 – 22 February 1897) was a French

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

and plant physiologist born in

Pont-Saint-Esprit Pont-Saint-Esprit (, literally "Holy Spirit Bridge"; oc, Lo Pònt Sant Esperit) is a commune in the Gard département in southern France. It is situated on the river Rhône and is the site of a historical crossing, hence its name. The Ardèche f ...

. In 1843 he started his career as an interne in pharmacy. From 1857 to 1897 he held the chair of ''Physique végétale'' at the

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

. He is known for his research involving the absorption of

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

by plants. In 1849-1852 he carried out experiments on nitrogen absorption from the air by plants that reasserted 18th century theories espoused by

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

and

Jan Ingenhousz Jan (or John) Ingenhousz or Ingen-Housz FRS (8 December 1730 – 7 September 1799) was a Dutch-born British physiologist, biologist and chemist. He is best known for discovering photosynthesis by showing that light is essential to the process ...

, stating that plants were capable of absorbing free nitrogen, a claim that was later opposed by Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure in 1804 and backed up by the experiments of

Jean Senebier Jean Senebier (6 or 25 May 1742 – 22 July 1809) was a Genevan Calvinist pastor and naturalist. He was chief librarian of the Republic of Geneva. A pioneer in the field of photosynthesis research, he provided extensive evidence that plants co ...

(1742-1809). The subject garnered enough interest in the scientific community that the French Academy of Sciences formed a committee to investigate Ville's work, resulting in a confirmation of his experiments on the matter. He performed extensive pioneer studies on chemical fertilizers, largely carried out on his "experimental farm" (''Ferme Georges-Ville'') that was founded in 1860 at

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...

Selected writings

* ''Se servir de la végétation pour pénétrer et définir l’état moléculaire des corps. Analyser la terre végétale par des essais raisonnés de culture'' — É. Giraud (1863). * ''La Production végétale, conférences agricoles faites au champ d’expériences de Vincennes dans la saison de 1864'', Librairie agricole de la Maison rustique. (Crop production, agricultural lectures made in field experiments at Vincennes in the season of 1864). * ''Assimilation par les végétaux de leurs éléments constitutifs. Champ d’expériences de Vincennes — Entretiens agricoles''. La revue des cours scientifiques de la France et de l’étranger 18 janvier 1868. * ''Premier aperçu sur les résultats de la campagne de 1868 au moyen des engrais chimiques'' — Librairie de la Maison rustique (1869) – First glimpse of the results of the 1868 campaign with chemical fertilizers. * ''L’école des engrais chimiques, premières notions de l’emploi des agents de fertilité'', Impr. impériale (1869) – The school of chemical fertilizers, first notions concerning the use of fertilization agents. * ''L’Analyse de la terre par les plantes'' — Impr. nationale (1894). * ''Recherches expérimentales sur la végétation, par Georges Ville. Dosage de l’ammoniaque de l’air, absorption de l’azote de l’air par les plantes'', Third edition. Préface de Stanislas Meunier— Gauthier-Villars et fils (1897) – Determination of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...

in the air, nitrogen absorption from the air by plants. ** Works by Ville that have been translated into English: * "Chemical manures. Agricultural lectures delivered at the experimental farm at Vincennes, in the year 1867". By George Ville. Translated by E.L. Howard. * "The school of chemical manures; or, Elementary principles in the use of fertilizing agents". From the French of M. Georges Ville, by A. A. Fesquet.
Biodiversity Library Works by Ville that have been translated into English

References

Georges Ville (1824-1897) - Gloubik Sciences
list of publications

(biography in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ville, Georges French agronomists People from Pont-Saint-Esprit 1824 births 1897 deaths Plant physiologists