Joseph Gay-Lussac

Joseph Gay-Lussac was a French chemist and physicist, born at St. Léonard, in the department of Haute Vienne, on the 6th of December 1778. He was the elder son of Antoine Gay, procureur du roi and judge at Pont-de-Noblac, who assumed the name Lussac from a small property he had in the neighborhood of St. Léonard. Young Gay-Lussac received his early education at home under the direction of the abbé Bourdieux and other masters, and in 1794 was sent to Paris to prepare for the École Polytechnique, into which he was admitted at the end of 1797 after a brilliant examination. Three years later he was transferred to the École des Ponts et Chaussées, and shortly afterwards was assigned to C. L. Berthollet, who wanted an able student to help in his researches. The new assistant scarcely came up to expectations in respect of confirming certain theoretical views of his master 's by the experiments set him to that end, and appears to have stated the discrepancy without reserve; but Berthollet nevertheless quickly recognized the ability displayed, and showed his appreciation not only by desiring to be Gay-Lussac 's "father in science", but also by making him in 1807 an original member of the Socité d 'Arcueil. In 1802 he was appointed demonstrator to Antoine François Fourcroy at the École Polytechnique, where subsequently (1809) he became professor of chemistry, and from 1808 to 1832 he was professor of physics at the Sorbonne, a post which he only resigned for the chair of chemistry at the Jardin des Plantes. In 1831 he was elected to represent Haute Vienne in the chamber of deputies, and in 1839 he entered the chamber of peers. He died in Paris on the 9th of May 1850. Gay-Lussac 's earlier researches were mostly physical in character and referred mainly to the properties of gases, vapor-tensions, hygrometry, capillarity, etc. In his first memoir (Ann. de Chimie, 1802) he showed that different gases are dilated in the same proportion when heated from 0° to 100°C.

Cited: Corporation, C. (n.d.). Joseph-louis gay-lussac. Retrieved from chemistry explained website: www.chemistryexplained.com Commission, C. (n.d.). Joseph gay-lussac. Retrieved from U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission website: www.centennialofflight.gov Corporation, W. (n.d.). Gay-lussac -- scientist. Retrieved from Woodrow website: www.woodrow.org