Charles Achille Müntz (10 August 1846 – 20 February 1917) was a French agricultural chemist.

Biography

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, studied under

Jean-Baptiste Boussingault Jean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault (2 February 1801 – 11 May 1887) was a French chemist who made significant contributions to agricultural science, petroleum science and metallurgy. Biography Jean-Baptiste Boussingault – an agric ...

in Paris, and, after acting as his assistant for ten years, succeeded him as director of the chemical laboratories in the Institut National Agronomique (1887–1914). From 1907 to 1914 he was also director of the research station for plant chemistry at

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

(

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

).MÜNTZ Charles Achille
Sociétés savantes de France He was a member of the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of 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 method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

(1896–1917) and the

Académie d'Agriculture The Académie d'agriculture de France (, AAF) is a voluntary association aiming to contribute to the evolution of agriculture and rural life in the scientific, technical, economic, judicial, legal, social and cultural fields. It is the successor ...

(from 1915). Müntz made special research on the feeding of cattle and horses, and, following Boussingault's method, tested his theories by practice on great herds, on Parisian cab horses, and, in the case of his contributions to viniculture, in various vineyards. He served as director of the "''Bibliothèque de l'Enseignement Agricole''". In

1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...

together with

Jean-Jacques Schloesing Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...

he proved that

nitrification ''Nitrification'' is the biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via the intermediary nitrite. Nitrification is an important step in the nitrogen cycle in soil. The process of complete nitrification may occur through separate organisms or ent ...

is indeed microbially mediated process. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Writings

He published the results of his experiments in the ''Annales'' of the Agricultural Institute, and other chemical and agricultural journals, and wrote: * ''Recherches sur l'alimentation des chevaux'', with Antoine-Charles Girard (1884). * ''Les engrais'', ("On fertilizer"; 2 volumes, with Antoine-Charles Girard, 1888–91). * ''Les vignes. Recherches expérimentales sur leur culture et leur exploitation'', (1895). * ''Recherches sur la nitrification intensive et l'établissement des nitrières à hauts rendements'', ("Research on intensive

and the establishment of niter beds for high yields, 1908).

Family

He was a brother of the art critic

Eugène Müntz Eugène Müntz (11 June 1845 – 30 October 1902) was a French art historian who specialized in the Italian Renaissance art. LIfe and career Eugène Müntz was born on 11 June 1845 in Soultz-sous-Forêts, Bas-Rhin. His brother was Achille Münt ...

Notes

References

* ;Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muntz, Achille 1846 births 1917 deaths 20th-century French chemists French agronomists People from Bas-Rhin 19th-century French chemists