Antoine Baumé (26 February 172815 October 1804) was a
French chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
.
Life
He was born at
Senlis
Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hauts-de-France.
The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...
. He was apprenticed to the chemist
Claude Joseph Geoffroy, and in 1752 was admitted a member of the École de Pharmacie, where in the same year he was appointed professor of chemistry. The money he made in a business he carried on 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 ...
for dealing in chemical products enabled him to retire in 1780 in order to devote himself to applied chemistry, but, ruined in the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
, he was obliged to return to a commercial career.
He devised many improvements in technical processes, e.g. for bleaching silk,
dyeing,
gilding
Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...
, purifying
saltpetre, etc., but he is best known as the inventor of the
Baumé scale
The Baumé scale is a pair of hydrometer scales developed by French pharmacist Antoine Baumé in 1768 to measure density of various liquids. The unit of the Baumé scale has been notated variously as ''degrees Baumé'', ''B°'', ''Bé°'' and simp ...
hydrometer
A hydrometer or lactometer is an instrument used for measuring density or relative density of liquids based on the concept of buoyancy. They are typically Calibration, calibrated and Graduation (instrument), graduated with one or more scales suc ...
or "spindle" which provides scientific measurements for the density of liquids.
The scale remains associated with his name but is often improperly spelt "Beaumé".
Of the numerous books and papers he wrote the most important is his ''Éléments de pharmacie théorique et pratique'' (9 editions, 1762–1818). He became a member of the
Academy of Sciences in 1772, and an associate of the
Institute
An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes ca ...
in 1796. He died in Paris on 15 October 1804.
Works
*
* ''Eléments de Pharmacie théorique et pratique'' . Samson, Paris Nouvelle Ed. 177
Digital edition/ 3rd ed. 177
Digital edition/ 4th ed. 177
Digital edition/ 5th ed. 178
Digital editionby the
University and State Library Düsseldorf (9 editions, from 1762 to 1818)
**
* ''Manuel de chymie ou exposé des opérations de la chymie et de leurs produits'', 1763
**
* ''Erläuterte Experimental-Chimie . Band 2'' . Fritsch, Leipzig 177
Digital editionby the
University and State Library Düsseldorf
*
*
*
*
*
*
Baumé, Antoine – Chymie expérimentale et raisonnée, 1773 – BEIC 8606690.jpg, ''Chymie expérimentale et raisonnée'', vol. 1, 1773
References
Attribution:
*
1728 births
1804 deaths
18th-century French chemists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
People from Senlis
{{france-chemist-stub