Pierre-Joseph Macquer (9 October 1718 – 15 February 1784) was an influential 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 ...

. He is known for his ''Dictionnaire de chymie'' (1766). He was also involved in practical applications, to medicine and industry, such as the French development of

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

. He worked as a chemist in industries, such as the Manufacture de Sèvres or the Gobelins Manufactory. He was an opponent of Lavoisier's theories. The scholar Phillipe Macquer was his brother. In 1752 Macquer showed that the pigment Prussian blue could be decomposed by alkaline solutions into a solid iron hydroxide compound and an aqueous solution of

Ferrocyanide Ferrocyanide is the anion cyanide.html" ;"title="e(cyanide">CN)6sup>4−. Salts of this coordination complex give yellow solutions. It is usually available as the salt potassium ferrocyanide, which has the formula K4Fe(CN)6. e(CN)6sup>4− is ...

. In his 1749 ''Elemens de Chymie Theorique'', Macquer builds on Geoffroy's 1718 affinity table, by devoting a whole chapter to the topic of chemical affinity: He became adjunct Chemist at the

French Academy of 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 ...

the 5th of April 1745. He later became Associate Chemist in 1766 before being granted the permanent Chair of Chemistry in 1772. In 1768, Macquer was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. In 1775, he was elected a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Macquer's salt, also named monopotassium arsenate (KH₂AsO₄) is named in his honor.

Works

* 1756
Elemens de Chymietheoretique
* 1766
Dictionnaire portatif des arts et metiers, volume 1
* 1766
Dictionnaire portatif des arts et metiers, volume 2
* * *

References

External links

Macquer, Pierre-Joseph (1718–1784)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macquer, Pierre Joseph 1718 births 1784 deaths 18th-century French chemists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society