Born near Macon, 1743; died in Paris, 1817.
A medical doctor and a great celebrity in his day as a chemist. He made
many remarkable discoveries, particularly on the subject of oxygen
and other gases. During the last thirty years of his life he devoted
himself to the study of mineralogy and geology. He was appointed in
1812 Professor of Natural Science to the Collège de France, which post
he retained until his death.