Picture
_Name: Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy
Date of Birth: 15 June 1755
Place of Birth: Paris, France

Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, was a French chemist. He lived from 15 June 1755 to 16 December 1809. He was born in Paris, France. He was one of Antoine Lavoisier’s contemporaries. In addition, he worked with notable people including Claude Berthollet, Guyton de Morveau and Lavoisier to produce the ‘Méthode de nomenclature chimique’. This work contributed greatly to the standardisation of chemical nomenclature.

Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy was the child of an apothecary. They were part of the Duke of Orleans’ household. He took up medicine after the advice of Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, an anatomist. He faced many challenges due to his lack of finances. In 1780, Antoine François got a doctor’s diploma. He was influenced by Jean Baptiste Michel Bucquet to focus on chemistry. Bucquet was then a professor at the Medical School of Paris. In 1784, he succeeded P. J. Macquer in lecturing at the college of Jardin du Roi. While lecturing at the college, Fourcroy became well-known.

Antoine François supported the ideas of Lavoisier. According to the count by the Catalogue of Scientific Papers of the Royal Society, Antoine François had 59 memoirs written by himself alone. A major contribution of Antoine François to systematic entomology was his work titled ‘Entomologia Parisiensis, sive, Catalogus insectorum quae in agro Parisiensi reperiuntur’. This was written with Étienne Louis Geoffroy.



Comments are closed.