Louis Joseph d'Albert d'Ailly (1741–1792), seventh

Duke of Chaulnes The title of Duke of Chaulnes (french: duc de Chaulnes), a French peerage, is held by the d'Albert family beginning in 1621. History First creation (1621–1698) The duchy of Chaulnes was established by letters patent in January 1621 and regis ...

and son of Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly, was a

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 ...

and

French aristocrat The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléo ...

Biography

At the death of his father in 1769, Louis Joseph inherited the title of Duke of

Picquigny Picquigny () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Picquigny is situated at the junction of the N235, the D141 and D3 roads, on the banks of the river Somme, some northwest (and downstream) of ...

. He studied science successfully and in 1764 was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

in London. He retired from military service at the age of twenty-four with the simple rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

and instead undertook the study of

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...

. In 1775, he proved that the poisonous air produced in the brewing process was

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

, and demonstrated a method of easily preparing acidic water with instruments with which water was shaken above vats where

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...

was fermenting. He showed a method of extracting and purifying salts from urine. In 1773, he found a way to crystallize

alkalis In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a so ...

by saturating carbon dioxide over a vat of beer. Chemists at the time recognised that asphyxiation from coal fumes is due to the formation of carbon dioxide. Chaulnes proposed a way to recover from suffocation through the administration 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 nitrogeno ...

gas in various forms. After experiencing success with animals, he wanted to confirm his discoveries on human beings. He gave instructions to his

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "val ...

and, when he had practised enough, he shut himself in a glass cabinet, sat on a mattress and surrounded himself with burning charcoal. The valet obeyed promptly and brought his master back to life. In the course of Chaulnes' travels he visited Egypt in 1763 where he recorded what he saw with accurate drawings of several monuments which until then had been un-published or poorly described. However, he included only one in the paper ''Mémoire sur la véritable entrée du monument égyptien qui se trouve à quatre lieues du Caire, près de Sakara'', Paris, 1783, in-4°. That monument, known as the Well of Birds, was a tomb for sacred animals. The author recounts his fruitless attempts to make plaster casts of the superb

hieroglyphs A hieroglyph (Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatonis ...

and gives other curious details. He also published ''Mémoire et Expériences sur l'air fixe qui se dégage de la bière en fermentation'', included in vol. 9 of an anthology of foreign scholars of the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

, 1780. On 11 February 1773 The Duke of Chaulnes had an altercation with Caron de

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

who accused him of stealing his mistress, the actress Mademoiselle Ménard. He was then imprisoned at the

Château de Vincennes The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, afte ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalbert Dailly, Louis Joseph Dukes of Chaulnes 1792 deaths 1741 births 18th-century French chemists Fellows of the Royal Society House of Albert 18th-century peers of France