Louis Claude Cadet de Gassicourt (24 July 1731 – 17 October 1799) 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 ...

who synthesised the first organometalic compound. He obtained a red liquid by the reaction of

potassium acetate Potassium acetate (CH3COOK) is the potassium salt of acetic acid. It is a hygroscopic solid at room temperature. Preparation It can be prepared by treating a potassium-containing base such as potassium hydroxide or potassium carbonate with acetic ...

with

arsenic trioxide Arsenic trioxide, sold under the brand name Trisenox among others, is an inorganic compound and medication. As an industrial chemical, whose major uses include in the manufacture of wood preservatives, pesticides, and glass. As a medication, i ...

. This liquid is known as

Cadet's fuming liquid Cadet's fuming liquid was a red-brown oily liquid prepared in 1760 by the French chemist Louis Claude Cadet de Gassicourt (1731-1799) by the reaction of potassium acetate with arsenic trioxide. It consisted mostly of dicacodyl (((CH3)2As)2) and ...

and contains the two compounds

cacodyl Cacodyl, also known as dicacodyl or tetramethyldiarsine, (CH3)2As–As(CH3)2, is an organoarsenic compound that constitutes a major part of "Cadet's fuming liquid" (named after the French chemist Louis Claude Cadet de Gassicourt). It is a poisonous ...

and

cacodyl oxide Cacodyl oxide is a chemical compound of the formula CH3)2Assub>2O. This organoarsenic compound is primarily of historical significance since it is sometimes considered to be the first organometallic compound synthesized in relatively pure form. ...

. Cadet studied at the

Collège des Quatre-Nations The Collège des Quatre-Nations ("College of the Four Nations"), also known as the Collège Mazarin after its founder, was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris. It was founded through a bequest by the Cardinal Mazarin. At his d ...

and became a pharmacist at the Hotel Royal des Invalides in Paris. He was the brother of the pharmacist Antoine-Alexis Cadet de Vaux.

Marie Thérèse Françoise Boisselet Marie Thérèse Françoise Boisselet (1731 – 1800) was the ''petite maîtresse'' to King Louis XV of France. Boisselet was born to Pierre Sulpice Boisselet and Marie Thérèse Carouailles. Her father was an employee of the king's kitchen staff, ...

became his wife in 1771, at that time her son, fathered by

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

, was two years old. The boy was adopted by Cadet as Charles-Louis Cadet. Cadet was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1787. In 1825, botanist Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

Gassicurtia ''Gassicurtia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Caliciaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by French botanist Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée in Essai Crypt. Exot. (Paris) 1: XLVI, 100 in 1825. The genus name of ''Gassic ...

'' which is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family

Caliciaceae The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of mo ...

and named in Cadet de Gassicourt's honor.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cadet de Gassicourt, Louis Claude 1731 births 1799 deaths University of Paris alumni Scientists from Paris Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society