Jean Baptiste Dumas
| Jean-Baptiste Dumas | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 14 July 1800 Alès (Gard) |
| Died |
10 April 1884 (aged 83) Cannes |
| Nationality | French |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Notable students | Eugène-Anatole Demarçay,Auguste Laurent |
| Known for | Atomic weights |
| Notable awards |
Copley Medal (1843) Albert Medal (1877) |
Jean Baptiste André Dumas (14 July 1800 – 10 April 1884) was a French chemist, best known for his works on organic analysis and synthesis, as well as the determination of atomic weights (relative atomic masses) and molecular weights by measuring vapor densities. He also developed a method for the analysis of nitrogen in compounds.
Dumas was born in Alès (Gard), and became an apprentice to an apothecary in his native town. In 1816, he moved to Geneva, where he attended lectures by M. A. Pictet in physics, C. G. de la Rive in chemistry, and A. P. de Candolle in botany, and before he had reached his majority, he was engaged with Pierre Prévost in original work on problems of physiological chemistry and even of embryology. In 1822, he moved to Paris, acting on the advice of Alexander von Humboldt, where he became professor of chemistry, initially at the Lyceum, later (1835) at the École polytechnique. He was one of the founders of the École centrale des arts et manufactures (later named École centrale Paris) in 1829.
In 1832 Dumas became a member of the French Academy of Sciences. From 1868 until his death in 1884 he would serve the academy as the permanent secretary for its department of Physical Sciences. In 1838, Dumas was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The same year he became correspondent of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands and, when that became the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1851, he joined as a foreign member. Dumas was president of from 1845 to 1864.
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