The Society of Arcueil was a circle of French scientists who met regularly on summer weekends between 1806 and 1822 at the country houses of

Claude Louis Berthollet Claude Louis Berthollet (, 9 December 1748 – 6 November 1822) was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804. He is known for his scientific contributions to the theory of chemical equilibria via the ...

and

Pierre Simon Laplace Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French polymath, a scholar whose work has been instrumental in the fields of physics, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, statistics, and philosophy. He summariz ...

at Arcueil, then a village 3 miles south of

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 ...

Members

In 1807, when the first collection of ''"Mémoires de Physique et de Chimie de la Société d'Arcueil"'' was published, a list of contributing members read: *

(1748-1822) *

(1749-1827) * Friedrich Heinrich

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

(1769-1859) * Louis Jacques Thenard (1777-1857) *

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 ...

(1778-1850) * Jean Baptiste Biot (1774-1862) * Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778-1841) * Hippolyte-Victor Collet-Descotils (1773-1815) * Amedée Barthélemy Berthollet (1780-1810) In the course of the following years they were joined by: *

Étienne-Louis Malus Étienne-Louis Malus (; ; 23 July 1775 – 23 February 1812) was a French officer, engineer, physicist, and mathematician. Malus was born in Paris, France and studied at the military engineering school at Mezires where he was taught by Gaspa ...

(1775-1812) * Dominique François Jean Arago (1786-1853) * Jacques Etienne Bérard (1789-1869) * Jean Antoine Chaptal (1756-1832) *

Pierre Louis Dulong Pierre Louis Dulong FRS FRSE (; ; 12 February 1785 – 19 July 1838) was a French physicist and chemist. He is remembered today largely for the law of Dulong and Petit, although he was much-lauded by his contemporaries for his studies into ...

(1785-1835) *

Siméon Denis Poisson Baron Siméon Denis Poisson (, ; ; 21 June 1781 – 25 April 1840) was a French mathematician and physicist who worked on statistics, complex analysis, partial differential equations, the calculus of variations, analytical mechanics, electricity ...

(1781-1840)

Inspiration

Antoine Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), When reduced without charcoal, it gave off an air which supported respiration and combustion in an enhanced way. He concluded that this was just a pure form of common air and that i ...

had initiated the practice of informal deliberation with his fellow scientists, including his junior assistants, in his laboratory at the Paris Arsenal. : ''"If at any time I have adopted, without acknowledgement the experiments of M.Berthollet, M.Fourcroy, M.de la Place, M.Monge (...) it is owing to (...) the habit of communicating our ideas, our observations and our way of thinking to each other (establishing) between us a sort of community of opinions in which it is often difficult for everyone to know his own."'' : (Lavoisier in: " Traité Élémentaire de Chimie", 1789)

Laplace Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French polymath, a scholar whose work has been instrumental in the fields of physics, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, statistics, and philosophy. He summariz ...

, and

Berthollet Claude Louis Berthollet (, 9 December 1748 – 6 November 1822) was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804. He is known for his scientific contributions to the theory of chemical equilibria via the ...

with his open laboratory, continued this spirit of fellowship at Arcueil. They were the senior moderators in a scientific debate of novel magnitude; combining the framework of physico-mathematical model (Laplace) with experimental investigation (Berthollet).

Roots

The roots of the active progress of the Society of Arcueil lay with

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's special attention to sciences in general and - as an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

officer - to mathematics in particular. Laplace had been Bonaparte's final examiner at the Ecole Militaire (September 1785) where

Gaspard Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse (; 9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geometry. Dur ...

, his professor, had encouraged him to finish the two-year course of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

in one. Napoleon became acquainted with Berthollet during his campaign in Italy, when Berthollet and Monge were part of the commission sent by the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...

to select and dispatch Italian art treasures, manuscripts and scientific documents to Paris. Laplace, Berthollet and Monge became instrumental in having Napoleon elected to the First Class of the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

(the class directing the exact sciences) when

Lazare Carnot Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist, military officer, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. His military refor ...

's place fell vacant in 1797. Napoleon in turn invited them to follow him to Egypt (1798-1799) and instructed Berthollet to conduct the recruitment of the scientists that were to compose the "Institut d'Egypte". The way Berthollet effectively directed the practical installation of the Institute at Qassim Bey's Palace in Caïro, cemented the friendship with Bonaparte in a way that proved its worth in the patronage of the Arcueil Society. When Berthollet, in 1807, concluded that the arrangement for research facilities at Arcueil had cost him more than he could afford, Napoleon, alerted by Laplace and Monge, immediately lend him 150.000 francs to break even. The informality of the "Institut d'Egypte" found its continuance at Arcueil where Berthollet from his Egyptian-decorated study remained in charge of the publication of the " Description de l'Egypte (1809)" (ref: Crosland, 1967). File:Society of Arcueil-1.jpg, Volumes I-III of ''Mémoires de physique et de chimie de la Société d’Arcuei'', published by the Society of Arcueil (1807-1817) File:Society of Arcueil-2.jpg, Title page to volume I of ''Mémoires de physique et de chimie de la Société d’Arcuei'' (1807) File:Society of Arcueil-3.jpg, Introduction to volume I of ''Mémoires de physique et de chimie de la Société d’Arcuei'' (1807) File:Society of Arcueil-4.jpg, First page to volume I of ''Mémoires de physique et de chimie de la Société d’Arcuei'' (1807)

Science Under Bonaparte

The quantitative applications of the new science of chemistry had important significance for the state economy. The exploitation of beet sugar, for example, was developed with the boycott of English trade in mind. From the publication of Franz Achard's letter on beet sugar in ''

Annales de chimie et de physique __NOTOC__ ''Annales de chimie et de physique'' (, ) is a scientific journal founded in Paris, France, in 1789 under the title ''Annales de chimie''. One of the early editors was the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier. Lavoisier, an aristocrat, was ...

'' (Bruxelles:Van Mons, 1799) and the first presentation of a sample to Napoleon during a session of the First Class of the Institute (June 25, 1800) till the first viable production by

Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert (14 February 1773 – 1 March 1847) was a French banker and naturalist. He was an honorary member of the Académie des Sciences and many species were named from his natural history collections. Biography He was bor ...

in 1812, the subject was one of the scientific priorities in France (see also:

Joseph Proust Joseph Louis Proust (26 September 1754 – 5 July 1826) was a French people, French chemist. He was best known for his discovery of the law of definite proportions in 1797, stating that chemical compounds always combine in constant proportions. ...

on grape sugar). The industrial fabrication of

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

from home grown indigo plant (distinct from

woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, ''Isati ...

) at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

was a direct heritage from the "Institut d'Egypte." Mathematical instruments were a special favourite with Napoleon, and were often awarded medals at the industrial fairs held at the instigation of Chaptal. Members of the Society of Arcueil were frequently invited to judge on such occasions. In 1806, at the third exhibition in the series, some 1.400 participants attended; up from 220 in 1801. Special attention was given to

textile printing Textile printing is the process of applying Color of clothing, color to textile, fabric in definite patterns or designs. In properly printing, printed fabrics the colour is bonded with the fiber, fibre, so as to resist washing and friction. ...

adapted by Christophe Oberkampf and his nephew Samuel Widmer with the introduction of ''roller'' instead of ''block'' printing. This particular industrial process integrated the

bleaching Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

(eau de javel) invented by Berthollet, as well as the application of new dyeing methods (Samuel Widmers invention of a solid green dye). In 1806 Oberkampf's factory printed fabrics at the rate of 7,5 metres a minute, a viable alternative to English import. Laplace and Monge were also instructed to supervise

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

's experiments with the Nautilus (1800),subsidized in France. Following Volta's visit to Paris in 1801 important work on the

Voltaic pile upright=1.2, Schematic diagram of a copper–zinc voltaic pile. Each copper–zinc pair had a spacer in the middle, made of cardboard or felt soaked in salt water (the electrolyte). Volta's original piles contained an additional zinc disk at the ...

, involving the Arcueil circle, was carried out under Bonaparte's auspices rewarding Paul Erman,

Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several Chemical element, e ...

, Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thenard in the process. The scientific work in general was of first importance to the education at the Ecole Polytechnique, the home base of many Arcueil scientists. The enhancing of the quality of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

and

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, with Collet-Descotils -the precursor in the discovery of

iridium Iridium is a chemical element; it has the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. This very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density ...

- in charge as chief engineer at the " Ecole des Mines", and above all the development of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

were of prime military significance. The French expertise in

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

was well judged by the Allies when later they dispatched

Jöns Jacob Berzelius Baron Jöns Jacob Berzelius (; 20 August 1779 – 7 August 1848) was a Swedish chemist. Berzelius is considered, along with Robert Boyle, John Dalton, and Antoine Lavoisier, to be one of the founders of modern chemistry. Berzelius became a memb ...

to Paris to update general knowledge. In 1819 he spent two full months as a guest of Berthollet in the laboratory at Arcueil experimenting, but above all sounding Pierre Dulong whose memoir on a new detonating substance ( nitrogen trichloride) had appeared in the 1817 volume of'' "Mémoires de Physique et de Chimie de la Société d'Arcueil"'' (

André-Marie Ampère André-Marie Ampère (, ; ; 20 January 177510 June 1836) was a French physicist and mathematician who was one of the founders of the science of classical electromagnetism, which he referred to as ''electrodynamics''. He is also the inventor of ...

had already briefed

on prior stages (1811-1813) of Dulong's invention).

"''Memoires''..."

There were three volumes of ''"Mémoires de Physique et de Chimie de la Société d'Arcueil"'': 1807, 1809 and 1817 -the last date testifying to the political difficulties following the demise of

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. The "Mémoires..." published some important new ideas: Malus on the polarisation of

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

(1809, 1817); Gay-Lussac on the free expansion of gases (1807); Humboldt and Gay-Lussac on

terrestrial magnetism The ''Journal of Geophysical Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. It is the flagship journal of the American Geophysical Union. It contains original research on the physical, chemical, and biological processes that contribute to the u ...

(1807);

Gay-Lussac's law Gay-Lussac's law usually refers to Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac's law of combining volumes of gases, discovered in 1808 and published in 1809. However, it sometimes refers to the proportionality of the volume of a gas to its Thermodynamic temperature ...

of combining volumes of gases (1809); Thenard and Biot's observation on the comparison of

aragonite Aragonite is a carbonate mineral and one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate (), the others being calcite and vaterite. It is formed by biological and physical processes, including precipitation fr ...

and

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

(one of the earliest proofs of dimorphism)(1809); Gay-Lussac and Thenard on the discovery of the

amide In organic chemistry, an amide, also known as an organic amide or a carboxamide, is a chemical compound, compound with the general formula , where R, R', and R″ represent any group, typically organyl functional group, groups or hydrogen at ...

s of metal (1809); Candolle on

heliotropism Heliotropism, a form of tropism, is the diurnal or seasonal motion of plant parts (flowers or leaves) in response to the direction of the Sun. The habit of some plants to move in the direction of the Sun, a form of tropism, was already known by th ...

(1817). Equally important was the special thread, woven into the overall discourse, that held together the brilliant cross-reference among friends.

Foreign visitors

There had often been attempts to correspond between the French and the English scientists notwithstanding the state of war between their countries. At the first opportunity the English correspondents of Arcueil returned to Paris, among them John Leslie (1814) and

Charles Blagden Sir Charles Brian Blagden Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (17 April 1748 – 26 March 1820) was an English physician and chemist. He served as a medical officer in the Army (1776–1780) and later held the position of Secretary of the Royal S ...

(1814, 1816, 1817) who died of apoplexy (1820) during a visit to Berthollet at Arcueil.

Mary Somerville Mary Somerville ( ; , formerly Greig; 26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872) was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorar ...

who wrote a popular account of Laplace's "Mécanique Céleste" dined at Arcueil with her scientific "heroes" (1817).

had already been invited by Berthollet to come and study at Arcueil in 1810, but it was not till 1818 that the Swedish government judged it appropriate for him to travel to France. At Arcueil Berzelius engaged in a steadfast friendship with Dulong. In 1820 Dulong wrote to Berzelius: : ''"Despite the objections of M.Laplace and some others, I am convinced that this (atomic) theory is the most important concept of the century and in the next twenty years it will bring about an incalculable extension to all parts of the physical sciences"'' It was the testimony of a changing mood and when

John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...

, who had strong differences of opinion with the Society, visited Arcueil in 1822, he received a hearty welcome. It was the last major social event for the Society of Arcueil. Berthollet died on November 6, 1822, and with him went an inspiring power of adherence.

Post Scriptum

The Society of Arcueil however, through the younger generation, was still to illuminate such work as that of Liebig, Pasteur, Fresnel, Niepce, Daguerre,

Léon Foucault Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (, ; ; 18 September 1819 – 11 February 1868) was a French physicist best known for his demonstration of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of Earth's rotation. He also made an early measuremen ...

... as well as many others in the field of scientific education.

Sources

* Maurice Crosland: "The Society of Arcueil -A view of French Science at the time of Napoleon I" Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967