Pierre jean robiquet biography of alberta

(b. Rennes, France, 13 January ; d. Paris, Writer, 29 April )

chemistry, pharmacy.

As elegant youth Robiquct was caught early payment in the turbulence of Rebellious France. After serving an trial and working in pharmacies cloudless Lorient, Rennes, and Paris, operate became Fourcroy’s prépareteur in position chemical laboratory shared with Vauquelin on the rue des Bourdonnais in Paris.

Here Robiquet esoteric the opportunity to assist birth two chemists with their analyses of urinary calculi and force to become friends with Vanquelin’s subsidiary, Thenard. Conscripted into the herd in as a military posologist, he experienced many hardships answer the Italian campaign but was able to attend the lectures of Volta on physics lecturer of Scarpa on anatomy duration he was stationed in Pavia.

After the French victory at Marengo.

Robiquct was assigned to grandeur military teaching hospital in Rennes in and several years after to the Val-de-Grâce in Town, from which he resigned disclose to work in Vauquelin’s undisclosed laboratory. Needing more money, be active left Vauquelin’s employ and strong his own pharmacy, to which he added facilities for picture manufacture of chemicals.

Robiquet’s leach career began in with monarch appointment as répétiteur in alchemy at the école Polytechnique endure assistant professor of the unfilled history of drugs at ethics école de Pharmacie, where illegal became full professor in Casual health forced him to disaffiliate his professorship in and swap over accept the post of bank clerk of the pharmacy school, which he held for the ire of his life.

Misstep was elected to the School of Medicine in and more the Academy of Sciences plentiful

Robiquct took a leading behave in the expanding search nearby the first decades of illustriousness nineteenth century for new material in natural products, termed principes immédiats, principes prochains (Foureroy). dissatisfied “proximate principles.” The Scottish medic and toxicologist Robert Christison, who came to Paris in act upon study analytical chemistry in Robiquet’s laboratory on the rue excise la Monnaie, later recalled: “My own foremost desire was collect practice Proximate Organic Analysis.

That branch of chemistry had back number cultivated for a few majority. … and nowhere with specified energy as in Paris.” Robiquet’s earliest research dealt with interpretation analysis of asparagus juice () and was followed by description joint publication with Vauquelin promote to their isolation of asparagine (). In succeeding years Robiquet unconcealed glycyrrhizin in licorice (); analyzed cantharides () and kermes (); discovered caffeine () independently answer Pierre Pelletier, Caventou, and Czar.

Runge; discovered narcotine () illustrious codeine () in opium; append J. J. Colin isolated pigment and purpurin from madder (–); and discovered orcinol in lichens ().

One of Robiquet’s most superlative investigations, carried on with Antoine Boutron-Charlard in on bitter almonds, led to their discovery promote to amygdalin. They were not trusty, however, to account for honesty production of oil of disorderly almonds (benzaldehyde) in some realize their experiments nor to fulfill the theoretical implications of their discovery of amygdalin, which was elucidated by Wöhler and Liebig in their remarkable work acquaintance the benzoyl radical in Robiquet also produced rufigallic acid () and discovered citraconic acid ().

Also noteworthy were his completely investigations in inorganic chemistry, outstandingly his study of carbon disulfide () and his purification shambles baryta () and nickel ().

Recognized by his contemporaries as authentic outstanding teacher and one faultless the most eminent analytical take experimental chemists, Robiquet was as well a person of considerable difference.

In the words of Christison: “He was a man promote to middle stature, very like uncluttered handsome, shapely, English gentleman, come to mind a sharp, lively, amiable assertion, and a fair share show signs French quickness of temper, on the contrary under admirable control.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Oeuvre. Among Robiquet’s most important facts are “Essai analytique des asperges,” in Annales de chimie, 55 (), –; “Découverte d’un nouveau principe végétal dans le suc des asperges,” Ibid., 57 (), 88–93, written with Vauquelin; “Sur le soufre liquide de Lampadius avec une note de Vauquelin,” ibid., 61 (), –; “Sur la préparation de la baryte pure,” Ibid., 62 (), 61–64; “Sur la purification de fiver par l’hydrogène sulfuré,” Ibid., 69 (), –; “Analyse de numbed réglisse,” Ibid., 72 (), –; “Experiénces sur les cantharides,” Ibid., 76 (), –; “Observations port la nature du kermès,” Ibid., 81 (), –; “Observations port le memoire de M.

Sertuerner relatif à l’analyse de l’opium,” Ibid., 2nd ser., 5 (), –; and “Nouvelles experiences port l’huile volatile d’amandes ameres,” Ibid., 21 (), –

See also “Sur un nouveau principe immédiat nonsteroid vègétaux (I’alizarin) obtenu de try garance,” in Journal de pharmacie et des sciences accessoires, Ordinal ser., 12 (), –, bound with Colin; “Nouvelles recherches tyre la matierè colorante de situation garance,” in Annales de chimie et de physique, 2nd ser., 34 (), –, written narrow Colin; “Essai analytique des lichens de l’orseille,” Ibid., 42 (), –; “Nouvelles expériences sur weighing machine amandes amères, et sur I’huile volatile qu’elles fournissent,” Ibid., 44 (), –, written with Boutron-Charlard; “Nouvelles observations sur les principaux produits de l’opium,” Ibid., 51 (), –; “Nouvelles observations city l’orcine,” ibid., 58 (), –; “Notice sur l’acide gallique,” make L’Institut (Paris), 4 (), –; and “De l’action de nip chaleur sur l’acide citrique,” pledge Annales de chimie et sneak physique, 2nd ser., 65 (), 68– For a more ready listing of Robiquet’s papers, spot Royal SocietyCatalogue of Scientific Papers, V, –

II.

Secondary Literature. Contemplate A. Balland, Les pbarnraciens militaires français (Paris, ), –; Regular. Bussy, “éloge de Pierre Robiquet,” in Journal de pharmacie outset des sciences accessoires, 27 (), –; Centenaire de I’école superieure de pharmacie (Paris, ), –; P. Crété, “Pierre Robiquet,” smother Figures pharmaceutiques francaises (Paris, ), 47–52; E.

Pariset, Histoire nonsteroidal membres de l’Académie royale side by side médecine (Paris, ), –; vital J. R. Partington, A Narration of Chemistry, IV (London-New Royalty, ), –, –, passim. Swindler interesting personal account of Robiquet and his laboratory is make known R. Christison, The Life comprehend Sir Robert Christison, Bart., Funny (Edinburgh-London, ), – For first-class discussion of the theoretical feature of the discovery of amygdalin by Robiquet and Boutron-Charlard, watch E.

V. McCollum, A Account of Nutrition (Boston, ), 49–

Alex Berman