Nationality French Name Alexandre Brongniart | Role Chemist | |
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Fields ChemistryMineralogyZoology Institutions Sevres - Cite de la ceramiqueManufacture nationale de SevresRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences Parents Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart Children Adolphe-Theodore Brongniart Grandchildren Edouard-Charles Brongniart Grandparents Ignace-Theodore Brongniart Similar People Adolphe‑Theodore Brongniart, Georges Cuvier, William Smith, Jean‑Baptiste Dumas, Jons Jacob Berzelius | ||
Alexandre brongniart
Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 1770 – 7 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris.
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Life
He was born in Paris, the son of the architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart and father of the botanist Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart.
He was an instructor at the École de Mines (Mining School) in Paris and appointed in 1800 by Napoleon's minister of the interior Lucien Bonaparte director of the revitalized porcelain manufactory at Sèvres, holding this role until death. The young man took to the position a combination of his training as a scientist— especially as a mining engineer relevant to the chemistry of ceramics— his managerial talents and financial acumen and his cultivated understanding of neoclassical esthetic. He remained in charge of Sèvres, through regime changes, for 47 years.
Brongniart introduced a new classification of reptiles and wrote several treatises on mineralogy and the ceramic arts. He also made an extensive study of trilobites and made pioneering contributions to stratigraphy by developing fossil markers for dating strata.
Brongniart was also the founder of the Musée national de Céramique-Sèvres (National Museum of Ceramics), having been director of the Sèvres Porcelain Factory from 1800 to 1847. In 1823, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Publications
Family
His son was Adolphe Theodore Brongniart.
His daughter Herminie married Jean Baptiste Andre Dumas.