Marie Adolphe Carnot (27 January 1839 – 20 June 1920) 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 t ...

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He came from a distinguished family: his father,

Hippolyte Carnot Lazare Hippolyte Carnot (6 October 1801, Saint-Omer – 16 March 1888) was a French politician. He was the younger brother of the founder of thermodynamics Sadi Carnot and the second son of the revolutionary politician and general Lazare Nicol ...

, and brother,

Marie François Sadi Carnot Marie François Sadi Carnot (; 11 August 1837 – 25 June 1894) was a French statesman, who served as the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894. Early life Marie François Sadi Carnot was the son of the statesman Hippo ...

, were politicians, the latter becoming

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

third French Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

. He was born in

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 ...

and 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 Mines École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scal ...

. He became a member of the

Corps des mines The ''Corps des mines'' is the foremost technical Grand Corps of the French State (grands corps de l'Etat). It is composed of the state industrial engineers. The Corps is attached to the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. Its purpose is to e ...

, and from 1864 to 1867, served as a mining engineer in Limoges. From 1868 to 1877 he was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of preparatory courses and general chemistry at the École des Mines in Paris, where from 1877 to 1901, he worked as a professor of

analytical chemistry Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

.Marie Adolphe CARNOT (1839-1920)
Annales.org In 1881 he was appointed Chief Engineer of Mines, and in 1894, was named Inspector General of Mines. He became director of the

in 1901, a post he held until 1907. Aside from administrative work and teaching and training many engineers, he wrote a treatise on the

chemical analysis Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed ...

(''Traité d'analyse des substances minérales'', published 1898) and pursued research. The

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

carnotite Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2( U O2)2( VO4)2·3 H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present. Occurrence Carnotite ...

is named after him.Carnotite
Mindat.org He was honoured with membership of the Académie d'Agriculture (1884) and

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 th ...

(1895), and was made a Commander of the Légion d'honneur (1903). He also pursued a political career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnot, Marie Adolphe 1839 births 1920 deaths Politicians from Paris Politicians of the French Third Republic French mining engineers 19th-century French chemists Scientists from Paris Members of the French Academy of Sciences Carnot family