Berthelot, Marcelin

(1827-1907)

   chemist, political figure

   Born in Paris and educated at the collège de france, Marcelin Berthelot received a doctorate in 1854 with a thesis on the nature of fats, glycerin, and polyhydric alcohols. In 1856, he synthesized methane. With his success in the area of sythesiza-tion, he helped to discredit the prevailing notion that only living organisms can create organic compounds. In fact, Berthelot contributed to the knowledge of almost every class of organic chemical compounds, especially dyestuffs and explosives, and on the energy in chemical reaction. He was a professor at the École Supérieure de Pharmacie (1859) and at the collège de france (1865). A member of the French Academy of Sciences (1873), he succeeded louis pasteur as perpetual secretary of that academy in 1889. As a member of the French government, he served as inspector general of education (1876) and was elected senator for life in 1881. He was minister of public instruction from 1886 to 1887, and minister of foreign affairs from 1895 to 1896. Berthelot's writings include Les origines de l'alchimie (1885), Traitépractique de calorimetrie chimique (1893), and Recherches expérimentales (1901).