Jan Pieter Minckeleers
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Jean-Pierre or Jan Pieter Minckelers (also Minkelers, Minckeleers) (1748-1824) was a Dutch academic and inventor of coal gasification and illuminating gas. Minckelers was the son of Anna Margaretha Denis en Laurens Michael Minckelers, a pharmacist in
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
. After finishing
Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...
in his hometown at the age of 15, he went to the University of Leuven (French: ''Louvain''), where he studied theology and philosophy at the Collegium Falconis. In 1771 he became a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
and the next year he became professor of natural philosophy. From 1778 Minckelers focussed on the study of gasses. He worked closely with Jan Frans Thijsbaert (Jean-François Thysbaert; 1736–1825), director of the school of experimental physics at the university, and it was under Thysbaert's direction that he did his experiments on coal gas. In the early 1780s the question of aerostats and
Montgolfier The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune A ...
balloons was occupying the mind of scientists, and
Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg Louis Engelbert of Arenberg (3 August 1750 in Brussels – 7 March 1820 in Brussels), nicknamed ''the blind duke'', was between 1778 and 1801 the sixth Duke of Arenberg and 12th Duke of Aarschot. Between 1803 and 1810 he ruled a Duchy in Nor ...
, a promoter of science and art, engaged Minckelers, Thysbaert en Carolus van Bochaute, a third natural philosopher at the university, to address the question of the best gas for balloon purposes. In 1784, after many experiments, Minckelers published a work entitled ''Mémoire sur l'air inflammable tiré de différentes substances, rédigé par M. Minkelers, professeur de philosophie au collège du Faucon, université de Louvain'' (Louvain, 1784). As an appendix to this memoir there was a ''Table de gravités spécifiques des différentes espèces d'air'' by Thysbaert. In his memoir Minckelers relates how he made his discovery: from the very beginning of his experiments he had had the idea of enclosing oil in the barrel of a gun and heating it in a forge. Under action of the heat the oil dissolved and gave way to a very light gas, having other advantageous qualities. Having proved that oil gas was the best for balloons, Minckelers used it for many balloons which rose rapidly and travelled great distances in the neighbourhood of
Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
in 1783. As we learn from his pupil von Hulstein, who was in his class in 1785, Minckelers at times used this same gas to light his lecture hall. Later on some students' bedrooms were lit by gas as well. Moreover, the drift of his memoir proves clearly that in its inventor's eyes the great combustibility of the gas was one of its leading qualities. When
Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
, in 1788, transferred the
Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...
to
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Minckelers continued as professor. During the
Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (french: Révolution brabançonne, nl, Brabantse Omwenteling), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Aust ...
, Brussels was besieged and Minckelers was forced to flee, leaving his equipment behind. The gaslight apparatus is thought to have survived until World War I. As a supporter of the emperor, he could not regain his position when the University moved back to Leuven. He officially resigned in 1794 and was appointed professor of physics and chemistry at the Central School of Maastricht. While not at a center of higher learning, he proceeded to do research, among others on
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and on a
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skeleton discovered in a local limestone quarry in 1800. In 1816 he became member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands. He retired in 1818 and died six years later in his hometown of Maastricht. Minckelers is remembered as an inventor of coal gasification and
gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...
and as the first to do this at a practical scale. On Maastricht's market square stands a statue, created by
Bart van Hove Bart van Hove (18 March 1850 – 10 February 1914) was a 19th-century Dutch sculptor. Biography Van Hove was born in The Hague. According to the RKD he was the grandson of the painter Bartholomeus Johannes van Hove for whom he is named, an ...
, that carries an "eternal" gas light. For sustainability and budget reasons, the flame is coin operated since 2006. Another statue of him is in
Heverlee Heverlee () is a town in Belgium. It is a borough of the city of Leuven. Heverlee is bordered by Herent, Bertem, Oud Heverlee and several other municipalities that are part of Leuven (including Leuven proper and Kessel-Lo). The town is the loca ...
near the science buildings of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. A number of schools and streets in the Netherlands and Belgium carry his name, including a street in the center of
Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
.


References

;Attribution * Cites: **MINKELERS, Mémoire sur l'air inflammable tiré de différentes substances (Louvain, 1784); **DE RAS, Historisch Verslag over J. P. Minkelers (Maastricht, 1897); **VERHAEGEN, Les cinquante dernières années de l'université de Louvain (Liège, 1894); **DE BOCKE, De vervaardiging van lichtgas uit steenkolen (Alkmaar, 1882).


Bibliography

**P.A.Th.M. Jaspers, ''De ontwikkeling van de pharmacie in Limburg gedurende de Franse Tijd'', Venlo: Dagblad voor Noord Limburg 1966, pp. 126, passim; **P.A.Th.M. Jaspers, ''J.P. Minckelers 1748-1824'', Maastricht: Stichting Historische Reeks 1983; **H. Nabben, ''Lichter dan lucht, los van de aarde'', Barneveld: BDU Uitgevers 2013.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minckelers, Jean-Pierre 1748 births 1824 deaths 18th-century Dutch inventors Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Maastricht Old University of Leuven alumni Old University of Leuven faculty