François Eugène Turpin (30 September 1848 – 24 January 1927) 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 ...

involved in research of explosive materials. He lived in Colombes.

Biography

In 1881 Turpin proposed panclastites, a class of Sprengel explosives based on a mixture of a suitable fuel with dinitrogen tetroxide as an

oxidizer An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxid ...

. In 1885, based on research of Hermann Sprengel, Turpin patented the use of pressed and cast picric acid in blasting charges and artillery shells. In 1887 the French government adopted it under the name Melinite, with addition of

gun cotton Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

. Since 1888, Britain started manufacturing a very similar mixture in

Lydd Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a c ...

, Kent, under the name Lyddite. Japan followed with an improved formula known as Schimose. In 1897, Turpin sued Jules Verne for basing Thomas Roch from the ''

Facing the Flag ''Facing the Flag'' or ''For the Flag'' (french: Face au drapeau) is an 1896 patriotic novel by Jules Verne. The book is part of the ''Voyages extraordinaires'' series. Like ''The Begum's Millions'', which Verne published in 1879, it has the th ...

'' novel on him and the Melinite explosive. Verne, defended by Raymond Poincaré, was found innocent; his letter to his brother Paul however confirms the character was indeed based on Turpin.Jules Verne FAQ (English)
at jv.gilead.org.il

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin, Francois Eugene 1848 births 1927 deaths 19th-century French chemists Scientists from Paris 20th-century French chemists