Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville

Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville was a prominent French chemist born on March eleventh, eighteen eighteen, in the Danish West Indies on the island of St. Thomas. His father served as the French consul, and Deville, along with his elder brother Charles, received his education at the collège Rollin in Paris. In eighteen forty-four, he graduated as a doctor of medicine and a doctor of science, leading to his appointment to organize the new faculty of science at Besançon, where he served as dean and professor of chemistry from eighteen forty-five to eighteen fifty-one.

After returning to Paris in eighteen fifty-one, Deville succeeded Antoine Jérôme Balard at the École Normale and later became a professor at the Sorbonne in eighteen fifty-nine, taking over from J. B. A. Dumas. His research contributions were significant, particularly in the fields of inorganic and thermal chemistry. In eighteen forty-one, he began his experiments with oil of turpentine and tolu balsam, during which he discovered toluene. His most notable achievements include the discovery of anhydrous nitric acid in eighteen forty-nine and the successful large-scale preparation of metallic aluminium in eighteen fifty-four.

Deville's collaborative work with Friedrich Wöhler led to the discovery of silicon nitride in eighteen fifty-seven. He also partnered with Jules Henri Debray to purify platinum metals and sought a suitable metal for the standard metre for the International Metric Commission. His innovative methods for determining vapour densities at high temperatures were developed alongside Louis Joseph Troost, and he investigated the allotropic forms of silicon and boron with Wöhler.

Among his many experiments, Deville focused on the artificial preparation of minerals, particularly apatite and crystalline oxides. His most renowned contribution to general chemistry was his exploration of reversible reactions, which he encapsulated in a general theory of 'dissociation.' This work began around eighteen fifty-seven and included the invention of the 'Deville hot and cold tube' apparatus.

In recognition of his contributions, Deville was elected to the American Philosophical Society in eighteen sixty. His legacy continues, with the rue Sainte-Claire-Deville in the twelfth arrondissement of Paris named in his honour in eighteen eighty-five.