Émile Duclaux (24 June 1840 – May 2, 1904) was a French

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of para ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

born in

Aurillac Aurillac (; oc, Orlhac ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aurillacois'' or ''Aurillacoises''. Geography Aurillac is at above sea leve ...

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

. He studied at the College of Aurillac, the

Lycée Saint-Louis The lycée Saint-Louis is a highly selective post-secondary school located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It is the only public French lycée exclusively dedicated to providing '' classes préparatoires aux grandes ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and at

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

. In 1862 he began work as an assistant in the laboratory of

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

(1822–1895). During his career, he taught classes in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

(1865),

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attrac ...

(1866),

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

(from 1873) and

(from 1878). In Paris, he was a professor of

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

at the Institute of

Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

. For much of his career he was associated with the work of Louis Pasteur. In 1888 he was elected to the ''

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at ...

'', and in 1894 became a member of the ''

Académie Nationale de Médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the instituti ...

''. Duclaux's work was largely in the fields of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

. Duclaux initiated the custom of naming enzymes by adding the suffix "

-ase The suffix -ase is used in biochemistry to form names of enzymes. The most common way to name enzymes is to add this suffix onto the end of the substrate, ''e.g.'' an enzyme that breaks down peroxides may be called peroxidase; the enzyme that pro ...

" to the enzyme's substrate. His intention was to honor the first scientists (namely

Anselme Payen Anselme Payen (; 6 January 1795 – 12 May 1871) was a French chemist known for discovering the enzyme diastase, and the carbohydrate cellulose. Biography Payen was born in Paris. He began studying science with his father when he was a 13-ye ...

, 1795–1871; and Jean-François Persoz, 1805–1868) to isolate an enzyme; " diastase", in 1833.Émile Duclaux (1899) ''Traité de Microbiologie'', vol. 2. Paris, France: Masson and Co. See Chapter 1, especiall
p. 9
With Pasteur, he collaborated in the study of

silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically ...

diseases, and also took part in experiments to debunk the theory of

spontaneous generation Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise f ...

. In the 1870s, he undertook studies of

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bu ...

, an aphid-like pest that plagued

grape vine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...

yards. In addition, he performed research on the composition of milk, and conducted studies on beer and wine. In 1887 he began publication of the ''Annales de l'Institut Pasteur'', with Charles Chamberland (1851-1908),

Jacques-Joseph Grancher Jacques-Joseph Grancher (; 29 September 1843 in Felletin, Creuse – 13 July 1907) was a French pediatrician born in Felletin. In 1862 he began his medical studies in Paris, where he worked as an assistant at the Hôpital des Enfants Malad ...

(1843–1907),

Edmond Nocard Edmond Isidore Etienne Nocard (29 January 1850 – 2 August 1903), was a French veterinarian and microbiologist, born in Provins (Seine-et-Marne, France). Nocard studied veterinary medicine from 1868 to 1871 and (after a brief service in th ...

(1850–1903) and

Pierre Paul Émile Roux Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

(1853–1933) as members of the first editorial board. Following Pasteur's death in 1895, Duclaux became director of the Institute, with Roux and Chamberland serving as its sub-directors. Duclaux was a prolific writer, some of his better known publications were ''Traité de microbiologie'', ''L'hygiène sociale'', ''Ferments et maladies'' and ''Pasteur, histoire d'un esprit'', the latter being a biography dedicated to Pasteur. Being actively involved in French politics, he was a vocal supporter of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

(1859-1935), when the latter was unjustly accused of treason. Duclaux's second wife,

Agnes Mary Frances Duclaux Agnes Mary Frances Robinson (known as Agnes-Marie-François Darmesteter after her first marriage, and Agnes Mary Frances Duclaux after her second; 27 February 1857 – 9 February 1944) was a poet, novelist, essayist, literary critic, and translat ...

(maiden name Agnes Mary Frances Robinson 1857–1944), was a well-known author, and his son, Jacques Eugène Duclaux (1877–1978), was a highly regarded chemist.

References

External links

Biography of Emile Duclaux
Pasteur Brewing *

(chronological biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Duclaux, Emile 1840 births 1904 deaths People from Aurillac French biologists French microbiologists Hygienists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Lycée Saint-Louis alumni