Claudine Picardet
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Claudine Picardet (born Poullet, later Guyton de Morveau) (7 August 1735 – 4 October 1820) 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 th ...
,
mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
,
meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
and scientific
translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
. Among the French chemists of the late eighteenth century she stands out for her extensive translations of scientific literature from Swedish, English, German and Italian to French. She translated three books and thousands of pages of scientific papers, which were published as well as circulated in manuscript form. She hosted renowned scientific and literary salons in Dijon and Paris, and was an active participant in the collection of meteorological data. She helped to establish Dijon and Paris as scientific centers, substantially contributing to the spread of scientific knowledge during a critical period in the
chemical revolution The chemical revolution, also called the ''first chemical revolution'', was the early modern reformulation of chemistry that culminated in the law of conservation of mass and the oxygen theory of combustion. During the 19th and 20th century, thi ...
.


Biography

Poullet was born in Dijon and died in Paris. She was the eldest daughter of a royal notary, François Poulet de Champlevey. In 1755, Poullet married Claude Picardet, a barrister. Claude Picardet served as a councillor of the ''Table de marbre'', and later a member of the ''Académie royale des sciences, arts, et belles-lettres de Dijon''. This gave her a broad entrée to scientific, bourgeoisie and high society circles. She attended lectures and demonstrations and became active as a scientist,
salonnière A salon is a gathering of people held by an inspiring host. During the gathering they amuse one another and increase their knowledge through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "ei ...
, and translator. She published initially as "Mme P*** de Dijon". The couple had one son, who died in 1776, at age 19. After she became a widow in 1796, she moved to Paris. In 1798 she married Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, a close friend and scientific colleague of many years. Guyton de Morveau served as a deputy in the
Council of five hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...
and was director and professor of chemistry of 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 ...
in Paris. She continued her translations and scientific work and hosted an elite scientific salon. During the reign of Napoleon, she was styled Baroness Guyton-Morveau. Little is known of her between her second husband's death in 1816, and her own in 1820.


Translation

Picardet translated thousands of pages of scientific works, many of them by the leading scientists of the day, from multiple languages, for publication in French. Her work can be seen in the context of a shift in the nature of scientific translation, away from the work of "solitary translators". Guyton de Morveau headed a group of translators at Dijon Academy, the ''Bureau de traduction de Dijon'', in response to a demand for timely full translations of foreign scientific texts, particularly in the fields of chemistry and mineralogy. Those engaged in this "collective enterprise" needed local and international connections to acquire the original printed works, and linguistic and scientific expertise to develop and validate the accuracy of their translations. In addition to the linguistic work of translation, they carried out laboratory experiments to replicate experimental instructions and confirm the results observed. Mineralogical observations about materiality, such as the color, odor and shape of crystals, were made to confirm the factual information given in the original text. The group at Dijon Academy played a "pioneering role" in making the work of foreign scientists available in France. Some translations were published in books and journals. Others were circulated as manuscript copies within scientific and social circles. In addition, experiments were presented at public lectures and demonstrations. Claudine Picardet was the only non-academic among the group, the only woman, and more prolific than any of the half dozen men involved. She was the only translator in the group to work in five languages, and the only one to publish in journals besides the ''
Annales de chimie __NOTOC__ ''Annales de chimie et de physique'' ( French for ''Annals of Chemistry and Physics'') is a scientific journal founded in Paris, France, in 1789 under the title ''Annales de chimie''. One of the early editors was the French chemist Ant ...
''. The ''Annales de chimie'' was established by Guyton de Morveau,
Antoine Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), When reduced without charcoal, it gave off an air which supported respiration and combustion in an enhanced way. He concluded that this was just a pure form of common air and th ...
,
Claude Louis Berthollet Claude Louis Berthollet (, 9 December 1748 – 6 November 1822) was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804. He is known for his scientific contributions to theory of chemical equilibria via the mech ...
and others beginning in 1789. The rules of the editorial board stated, as of January 1789, that translators were to be paid comparably to authors. Some later writers, beginning with a "strange obituary" by Claude-Nicolas Amanton, have given Guyton de Morveau and others in the group credit for Picardet's work. Scholar Patrice Bret describes this as a misogynous and "metaphoric tale", contradicted by attributions in the published works and other evidence.


Works translated

By 1774, at the urging of Guyton de Morveau, Picardet was translating
John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...
's ''Spatogenesia: the Origin and Nature of Spar; Its Qualities and Uses'' (English, 1772) for publication in
Jean-André Mongez Jean-André Mongez (21 November 1750 – May 1788) was a French priest and mineralogist. He is presumed to have died at Vanikoro, on the La Pérouse expedition. Life Mongez was born in Lyon. He joined the canons regulars of Sainte-Geneviève ...
's ''
Journal de physique The ''European Physical Journal'' (or ''EPJ'') is a joint publication of EDP Sciences, Springer Science+Business Media, and the Società Italiana di Fisica. It arose in 1998 as a merger and continuation of ''Acta Physica Hungarica'', ''Anales de F ...
''. She became a prominent contributor to Mongez's journal, although her early publications identify her only as Mme. P or "Mme P*** de Dijon". By 1782, Guyton de Morveau's letters indicate that Claudine Picardet had translated works from English, Swedish, German, and Italian into French. Picardet created the first published collection of the chemical essays of
Carl Wilhelm Scheele Carl Wilhelm Scheele (, ; 9 December 1742 – 21 May 1786) was a Swedish German pharmaceutical chemist. Scheele discovered oxygen (although Joseph Priestley published his findings first), and identified molybdenum, tungsten, barium, hydrog ...
, translated from papers in Swedish and German, as ''Mémoires de chymie de M. C. W. Scheele'', in two volumes (French, 1785). Mme. Picardet is credited with bringing Scheele's work on
oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
to the notice of scientists in France. Picardet was publicly identified as a translator, for the first time, in a review of the book by
Jérôme Lalande Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande (; 11 July 1732 – 4 April 1807) was a French astronomer, freemason and writer. Biography Lalande was born at Bourg-en-Bresse (now in the département of Ain) to Pierre Lefrançois and Marie‐Anne‐Gab ...
which appeared in the ''
Journal des savants A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
'' in July 1786. Picardet wrote the first translation of
Abraham Gottlob Werner Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist who set out an early theory about the stratification of the Earth's crust and propounded a history of the Earth that came to be known as Neptunism. While most tenet ...
's 1774 work ''Von den äusserlichen Kennzeichen der Fossilien'' (On the External Characters of Fossils, or of Minerals; Germany, 1774) Werner's major work, it was the first modern textbook on descriptive mineralogy, developing a comprehensive color scheme for the description and classification of minerals. Picardet's translation, ''Traité des caractères extérieurs des fossiles, traduit de l'allemand de M. A. G. Werner'' (Treatise on the external characteristics of fossils) was eventually published in Dijon in 1790, 'par le traducteur des "Mémoires de chymie" de Scheele.' Because the original text was substantially expanded and annotated, Picardet's translation is often considered to have constituted a new edition of the work. In both of these translations, contributions by other authors (such as annotations) are clearly identified. Chemist and historian of science James R. Partington credits Picardet with the greater part of a French translation of the first two volumes of
Torbern Olof Bergman Torbern Olaf (Olof) Bergman (''KVO'') (20 March 17358 July 1784) was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist noted for his 1775 ''Dissertation on Elective Attractions'', containing the largest chemical affinity tables ever published. Bergman was the ...
’s six-volume ''Opuscula physica et chemica'' (Latin, 1779–1790). Published under the title ''Opuscules chymiques et physiques de M. T. Bergman'' (Dijon, 1780–1785), it has been generally credited to Guyton de Morveau. On the basis of letters between Guyton de Morvea and Bergman, Partington suggests that Picardet and others helped to translate Bergman's works without being credited. Mme. Picardet is variously credited with inspiring and possibly helping to write Madame Lavoisier's translation and critique of
Richard Kirwan Richard Kirwan, LL.D, FRS, FRSE MRIA (1 August 1733 – 22 June 1812) was an Irish geologist and chemist. He was one of the last supporters of the theory of phlogiston. Kirwan was active in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and geology ...
's 1787 ''Essay on
Phlogiston The phlogiston theory is a superseded scientific theory that postulated the existence of a fire-like element called phlogiston () contained within combustible bodies and released during combustion. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''burni ...
''. She translated some of Kirwan's papers. Claudine Picardet translated scientific papers from Swedish (Scheele, Bergman), German (
Johann Christian Wiegleb Johann Christian Wiegleb (December 21, 1732 – January 16, 1800) was a notable German apothecary and early innovator of chemistry as a science. Life Wiegleb, the son of a lawyer, was schooled in Langensalza.Wolfgang-Hagen Heim, Holm-Dietmar Schw ...
, Johann Friedrich Westrumb, Johann Carl Friedrich Meyer,
Martin Heinrich Klaproth Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1 December 1743 – 1 January 1817) was a German chemist. He trained and worked for much of his life as an apothecary, moving in later life to the university. His shop became the second-largest apothecary in Berlin, and ...
), English (
Richard Kirwan Richard Kirwan, LL.D, FRS, FRSE MRIA (1 August 1733 – 22 June 1812) was an Irish geologist and chemist. He was one of the last supporters of the theory of phlogiston. Kirwan was active in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and geology ...
, William Fordyce), Italian (
Marsilio Landriani Marsilio Landriani (Milan, 1751 – Vienna, 1815) was an Italian chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He became known with his first book, (Physical investigations on the salubrity of air), published in 1775. In it he described a new instrumen ...
) and possibly Latin (Bergman). Although she most frequently translated works on chemistry and mineralogy, she did translate some meteorological works. These included "Observationes astron. annis 1781, 82, 83 institutæ in observatorio regio Havniensi" (1784), reporting the astronomical observations of the longitude of the Mars knot, made in December 1783 by Thomas Bugge. Picardet's translation was published as "Observations de la longitude du nœud de Mars faite en Décembre 1873, par M. Bugge" in the ''Journal des savants'' (1787).


Scientific work

Picardet had attended Morveau's chemistry courses and had studied the minerals in the Dijon Academy's collection. With Guyton de Morveau and other members of the ''Bureau de traduction de Dijon'' she carried out chemical experiments and mineralogical observations to confirm the content of the works they were translating. The "Translator's Advertisement" for Werner's treatise on minerals clearly states that she was skilled in laboratory and cabinet observations. She even developed her own terms in French, based on her direct observations of minerals, to capture Werner's
neologisms A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
. Picardet was also active in Antoine Lavoisier’s network for gathering meteorological data. From as early as 1785, she took daily Barometer, barometric observations with an instrument from the Dijon Academy. M. Picardet sent her results to Lavoisier and they were presented to the Royal Academy of Science in Paris.


Portrait

As early as 1782, Guyton de Morveau had proposed a systematic approach to
chemical nomenclature A chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The ...
in which simple substances received simple names indicative of their chemical structure, such as
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
oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
. Compounds received names indicative of their constituent parts, such as
sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g ...
and
ferric sulfate Iron(III) sulfate (or ferric sulfate), is a family of inorganic compounds with the formula Fe2(SO4)3(H2O)n. A variety of hydrates are known, including the most commonly encountered form of "ferric sulfate". Solutions are used in dyeing as a morda ...
. From 1786 to 1787, Guyton de Morveau, Antoine Lavoisier, Claude-Louis Berthollet, and Antoine-François Fourcroy met almost daily, working intensively to write ''Méthode de nomenclature chimique'' (“Method of Chemical Nomenclature”), which they intended to be "a complete and definitive reform of names in inorganic chemistry". A painting of Lavoisier with the co-authors of ''Méthode de nomenclature chimique'' is believed to include both Mme. Lavoisier and Mme. Picardet. Mme. Lavoisier stands at the left of the group. The woman next to her is believed to be Mme. Picardet, holding a book emblematic of her work as a translator.


Impact

It was due to the work of both Claudine Picardet and her second husband Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau that Dijon was recognized internationally as a scientific center. As one of the two most prolific translators in chemistry during the 1780s, Madame Picardet increased the availability of chemical knowledge at a crucial time during the
chemical revolution The chemical revolution, also called the ''first chemical revolution'', was the early modern reformulation of chemistry that culminated in the law of conservation of mass and the oxygen theory of combustion. During the 19th and 20th century, thi ...
, particularly the knowledge of salts and minerals. Her activities supported the publication of specialized scientific journals and helped to establish the use of editorial features such as the date of first publication. The value of her work as a translator was recognized by scholars of her time both nationally and internationally.


See also

*
Timeline of women in science This is a timeline of women in science, spanning from ancient history up to the 21st century. While the timeline primarily focuses on women involved with natural sciences such as astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics, it also includes women f ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picardet, Claudine Poullet 1735 births 1820 deaths 18th-century French translators 18th-century French women scientists French meteorologists 18th-century French chemists French women chemists Scientists from Dijon