Auguste Laurent (14 November 1807 – 15 April 1853) was a French

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

who helped in the founding of organic chemistry with his discoveries of trichloroethylene, anthracene, phthalic acid, and carbolic acid. He devised a systematic nomenclature for organic chemistry based on structural grouping of atoms within molecules to determine how the molecules combine in organic reactions. He studied under

Jean-Baptiste Dumas Jean Baptiste André Dumas (; 14 July 180010 April 1884) was a French chemist, best known for his works on organic analysis and synthesis, as well as the determination of atomic weights (relative atomic masses) and molecular weights by measuri ...

as a laboratory assistant. At that time, the weight of carbon was considered to be 6. Laurent thought that a weight of 12 was more logical, and started drawing structures on that basis. He published his work in conjunction with Charles Frédéric Gerhardt. Shunned by Dumas, he eked out a living teaching in the mineral engineering lab - where he taught a young

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

how to crystalize tartaric acid. Laurent died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Alexander Williamson in England read Laurent's writing, leading to the Williamson Ether Synthesis that confirmed the validity of Laurent's approach.

Bibliography

Marc Tiffeneau (ed.) (1918). ''Correspondance de Charles Gerhardt'', tome 1, ''Laurent et Gerhardt'', Paris, Masson.

References

* Fisher, Nicholas W. "Auguste Laurent." Encyclopædia Britannica Mobile. 2013. web.

External links

* http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Laurent.html *

Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

*Josette Fournier
"Auguste Laurent (1807-1853) dans la ''Revue scientifique'' du Dr. Quesneville"
''Revue d'Histoire de la Pharmacie'', 2008, no. 359 pp. 287-303 1807 births 1853 deaths 19th-century French chemists Ministers of the overseas of France People from Haute-Marne {{france-chemist-stub