Claude Bourdelin (French pronunciation: [klod buʁdəlɛ̃]; c. 1621 – 14 October 1699) was a French apothecary and a pioneer of iatrochemistry. He was among the first chemists, along with Samuel Cottereau du Clos, to serve in the French Academy of Sciences at the time of its founding in 1666, chosen by Jean-Baptiste Colbert on behalf of Louis XIV.
Bourdelin was born in Villefranche and lost his parents early after which he was raised by relatives in Paris. He taught himself Greek and Latin and became an assistant to the apothecary serving Gaston, Duke of Orléans. He then became an assistant of Philippe d'Orléans who served the Duke of Anjou. When the French Academy of Sciences was founded in 1666, Jean-Baptiste Colbert was assigned by Louis XIV to select members and he appointed Samuel Cottereau du Clos and Claude Bourdelin who were both associated with medicine. From 1667 Claude Perrault suggested a research program which included chemical studies. Bourdelin worked with Samuel Cottereau du Clos to analyze mineral waters (sampling ninety sources from 68 locations in France and the analysis was published in 1675),[2] materials from plants and animals.[3] The academy consisting of fifteen members would meet twice a week, Tuesdays for mathematics and Saturdays for physics. The examination of plant matter included distillation of liquids and attempts to separate mixtures and compounds.[4][5][6]
References edit
- ^ Watson, E. C. (1939). "The Early Days of the Académie des Sciences as Portrayed in the Engravings of Sébastien Le Clerc". Osiris. 7: 556–587. doi:10.1086/368508. ISSN 0369-7827. S2CID 143371098.
- ^ Bycroft, Michael (2017). "Iatrochemistry and the Evaluation of Mineral Waters in France, 1600-1750". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 91 (2): 303–330. doi:10.1353/bhm.2017.0028. ISSN 1086-3176. PMID 28757498. S2CID 26977950.
- ^ Birembaut, Arthur (1970). "Bourdelin, Claude". In Gillispie, Charles Coulston (ed.). Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner.
- ^ Holmes, Frederic Lawrence (2003-09-01). "Chemistry in the Académie Royale des Sciences". Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences. 34 (1): 41–68. doi:10.1525/hsps.2003.34.1.41. ISSN 0890-9997.
- ^ Holmes, Fredric Lawrence (2004-03-01). "Investigative and pedagogical styles in French chemistry at the end of the 17th century". Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences. 34 (2): 277–309. doi:10.1525/hsps.2004.34.2.277. ISSN 0890-9997.
- ^ Stroup, Alice (1979). "Wilhelm Homberg and the Search for the Constituents of Plants at the 17th-Century Acadēmie Royale Des Sciences". Ambix. 26 (3): 184–201. doi:10.1179/amb.1979.26.3.184. ISSN 0002-6980. PMID 28521589.