Jean-Jacques Colin (16 December 1784 – 1865) was a French chemist known for his work in plant physiology, fermentation, and the chemistry of iodine. He collaborated with Henri-François Gaultier de Claubry on research demonstrating the interaction between iodine and starch, and with

Pierre Jean Robiquet Pierre Jean Robiquet (; 13 January 1780 – 29 April 1840) was a French chemist. He laid founding work in identifying amino acids, the fundamental building blocks of proteins. He did this through recognizing the first of them, asparagine, in 18 ...

on the isolation of alizarin and purpurin from madder root. Colin held teaching positions at the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

, the University of Sciences in Dijon, and the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

. Over his career, he published research across

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

, and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, contributing to studies on

seed germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ...

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

, dye production, and soap manufacturing.

Early life and education

Jean-Jacques Colin was born on 16 December 1784 in Riom, Department of Puy-de-Dôme, France. He was appointed a répétiteur (tutor) of chemistry at the

under

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac ( , ; ; 6 December 1778 – 9 May 1850) was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for his discovery that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen by volume (with Alexander von Humboldt), f ...

, a post he held until 1817. Following the political changes after the Restoration, his salary was reduced, leading to his resignation.

Career

In 1818, Colin was appointed professor of chemistry at the University of Sciences in Dijon. He also taught at the

and served as a corresponding member of the Philomatic society. Colin published research across inorganic and organic chemistry, mineralogy,

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

, and plant physiology. Together with Henri-François Gaultier de Claubry, he studied the chemical interactions between iodine and organic substances, observing the reaction between iodine and starch. In collaboration with Pierre-Jean Robiquet, he contributed to the isolation of

alizarin Alizarin (also known as 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone, Mordant Red 11, C.I. 58000, and Turkey Red) is an organic compound with formula that has been used throughout history as a red dye, principally for dyeing textile fabrics. Historically it wa ...

and purpurin from madder root. Colin co-authored studies on seed germination, respiration, and the effects of temperature and humidity on cereal crops. He conducted research on fermentation processes involving organic materials and alcohol production. His additional studies addressed indigo extraction, soap manufacturing, stain removal from textiles, and the properties of

pyroligneous acid Pyroligneous acid, also called wood vinegar or wood acid, is a dark liquid produced by the destructive distillation of wood and other plant materials. Composition The principal components of pyroligneous acid are 10% acetic acid, acetone and me ...

and

creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types w ...

. Colin authored approximately 30 scientific papers and books. He died in 1865.

Bibliography

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References

{{reflist 1784 births 1865 deaths 19th-century French chemists Academic staff of École Polytechnique Academic staff of the University of Burgundy Plant physiologists