Author
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List, Gary |
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Submitted to: Inform
Publication Type: Popular Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2003 Publication Date: 12/1/2003 Citation: List, G.R. 2003. Giants of the past: Michel Eugene Chevruel. Inform. 14:564-565. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Michel Chevruel, the father of lipid chemistry was born in Angers, France in 1786. It is not surprising that he became one of the outstanding chemists of the nineteenth century since his ancestors, dating some 200 years prior to his birth, were apothecaries, physicians or surgeons. Chevruel's pioneering research in this area lead to the founding of the modern candle industry. In 1825 he and J. L. Guy-Lussac took out a patent for the manufacture of stearic acid based candles. For this he was awarded a prize of 12,000 francs in 1855 by the Society for the Advancement of Industry and a medal was struck honoring the occasion. The fact that Chevruel was nearly 103 years old when he died is remarkable enough, but his accomplishments at advanced age are even more amazing, when considering that at age 93 he was active as director of the museum, at age 97 director of the dye workers at Goeblins. At age 101, Chevruel announced that he had changed his teaching curriculum in organic chemistry from 2 to 3 years in order to do justice to the rapidly expanding subject and he did complete the 3 academic years. Shortly thereafter, just shy of his 103rd birthday, on April 1889, Chevruel passed away. |
