author
M. (Marcellin) Berthelot
1827–1907
A brilliant 19th-century French chemist, he helped show that organic compounds could be made by synthesis and became one of the best-known scientific voices of his time. His career also stretched beyond the laboratory into public life, where he served the French Republic as a senator and minister.
1 Audiobook
Séance De L'académie Française Du 2 Mai 1901 Discours De Réception De M. Berthelot; Réponse De M. Jules Lemaître
by M. (Marcellin) Berthelot, Jules Lemaître
About the author
Born in Paris in 1827, Marcellin Berthelot became one of the leading French chemists of the 19th century. He is especially remembered for work in organic synthesis and thermochemistry, fields in which he helped push chemistry toward a more modern, experimental footing. He spent much of his career at the Collège de France, where he held the chair of organic chemistry.
Berthelot's scientific reputation rested on both research and range. He worked on the synthesis of organic compounds from inorganic substances, an important challenge to older ideas that life-related substances could only be produced by living organisms. He also wrote on the history of science, showing a lasting interest in how scientific ideas developed over time.
His public profile grew far beyond academia. A committed republican, he served as a senator and later held government office, including a term as France's minister of foreign affairs. Elected to the Académie française late in life, he was honored as both a man of science and a national public figure before his death in Paris in 1907.