D’arcet, Jean

(b. Doazit, near St. Sever, Landes, France, 7 September 1725; d. Paris, France, 12 February 1801)

chemistry.

While still very young, d’Arcet was disinherited and left penniless because he decided to devote to devote his life to science instead of following his father in the legal profession. Fortunately, Augustin Roux introduced him to Montesquieu, who took him to Paris in 1742 to be tutor to his son.

Although he became docteur–régent of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris on 18 November 1762, d’Arcet never practiced medicine. Rather, he began to attend G. F, Rouelle’s courses in chemistry and was so profoundly influenced that he spent the rest of his life in the study of this science. D’Arcet was made professor at the Collège de France in 1774 and was a member of the Paris Académie des Sciences from 1784 until its suppression in 1793. He became a member of the Institute de France at its formation in 1795.

D’Arcet first major work was a long series of experiments on the action of heat on minerals. The results, read to the Academy in 1766 and 1768, threw new light on the classification of minerals and developed and extended the work of J. H. Pott. It also laid the foundation for the manufacture of true porcelain (porcelaine dure) in France. It was quickly followed by work on the action of heat on the diamond and other precious stones (1771, 1773), in which he demonstrated the complete destructibility of the diamond when it is heated in air and distinguished it from other precious stones, such as rubies and emeralds.

During a series of experiments on fusible alloys, d’Arcet made one of lead, bismuth, and tin that was liquid at the temperature of boiling water and found a use in the production of stereotype plates (1775). Further work on alloys, some done in collaboration with Bertrand Pelletier, enabled him to develop a method of separating the copper from church bells and to show how these bells could be melted down to cast cannon (1791, 1794).

Together with the work already discussed, d’Arcet’s publication on the geology of the Pyrenees (1776) and his researches on the action of strong heat on calcareous earth (calcium carbonate), published in 1783, indicate that his interest in minerals and their analysis dominated his work throughout his career. That he did not confine himself entirely to this field, however, is shown by his translation into French of the work on viper venom by Felice Fontana and his work on the extraction of gelatin from bones.

Since much of d’Arcet’s work had a direct bearing on industrial techniques, he was appointed to several important posts in this field. As inspector at the Gobelins dye works he was able to improve some of the dyeing processes, and he succeeded P. J. Macquer as director of the porcelain works at Sèvres. He also served as inspector general of the mint.

During the last few years of his life d’Arcet did little original work, but he served on a number of government commissions and contributed to several reports for the Academy. He gradually adopted the new ideas of pneumatic chemistry.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. D’Arcet’s writings are Ergo omnes humores corporis tum excremento tum recremento ex fermentatione producuntur (Paris, 1762), his doctoral thesis; Analyses comparées des eaux de l’Yuette, de Seine, d’Arcueil, de Ville–d’Avray, de Sainte–Reine et de Bristol (Paris, 1767), written with Majault, P. I. Poissonnier, La Rivière, and Roux; Mémoire sur l’action d’un feu égal, violent et continué pendent plusieurs jours sur un grand nombre de terres, de pierres et de chaux métalliques (Paris, 1766); Second mémoire sur l’action d’un feu égal, violent et continué pendant plusieurs jours sur un grand nombre de terres, de pierres et de chaux métalliques (Paris, 1771);Mémoire sur le diamant et quelques autres pierres précieuses (Paris, 1771); Expériences nouvelles sur la destruction du diamant(Paris, 1773); written with Rouelle; Rapport pour l’examem des eaux d’Enghien, au dessus de l’étang de Saint–Gratien (Paris, 1774), written with Bellot,Élie Bertrand, and Roux; Expériences sur l’alliage fisible de plomb, de bismuth et d’étain riences sur l’alliage fusible de plomb, de bismuth et d’étain (Paris, 1775);Discours en forme de dissertation sur I’état actuel des Montagnes des Pyrénées et sur les causes de leur dégradation (Paris,1776); Mémoire sur la maladie de M. Lhéritier (Paris, 1778); Trait´ sur le venin de la vipère,2 vols. (Paris, 1781), trans. from the Italian of Felice Fontana; Mémoire sur la calcination de la pierre calcaire et sur sa vitrification (Paris, 1783); Rapport sur l’électricité dans les naladies nerveuses (Paris,1985)Supplément à l’instruction sur l’art de séparer le cuivre du métal des cloches (Paris, 1791); “Rapport sur les principes de I’art de la verrerie,” in Annales de chimie, 9 (1791); 113–137, 235–260, written with Antoine de Fourcroy and Claude Berthollet; Instruction sur I’art de sé de séparate le cuivre du métal des cloches, Publié par ordre du Comité de Salut Public (Paris, an II[1794], written with Pelletier, which also contains: Rapport sur les derniers essais faits à Romille por opérer en grand le raffinage du métal des clothes afin d’en séparer le cuivre"; Rapport sir les divers moyens d’extraire avec avantage le sel de soude du sel marin (Paris, an II[1794]), written with Claude Lelièvre, Pelletier, and Giround; Rapport sur la fabrication des savons (Paris, an III{1795]), written with Lelièvre and Pelletier; Rapport sur les couleurs pour la porcelaine…(Paris, an V[1797]), written with Fourcroy and Guyton de Morveau; Rapport fait à l’Institut nationale sur les résultats des expériences du citoyen Clouet sur les différens états du fer et pour la conversion du fer en acier fondu (Paris, an VI[1798]); and “Rapport du mémoire de M. Felix sur la teinture et le commerce du coton filé rouge de la Grèce,” in Abbals de chimie,31 (an VII[1799]), 214–219.

II. Secondary Literature. There is an obituary by Antoine de Fourcroy in Journal de Paris(28 plusiôse an IX{1801]); See also Goerges Cuvier, “Notice syr jean d’Arcet,” in Mémoires de l’Institut, classe des sciences mathématiques et physiques, 4 (an XI [1801]), 74–88; M. J. J. Dizé, Prėcis historique sur la vie et les travauz de Jean d’Arcet (Paris, an X [1802]); and “Éloge historique de Jean Darcet,” in Recueil des éloges historiques lu dans les séances publiques de l’Institut royal de France, I (Paris, 1819), 165–185.

E.Mcdonald