René Just Haüy
René Just Haüy | |
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mineralogist |
René Just Haüy (French pronunciation:
Biography
Early life
René-Just Haüy was born at
Haüy's interest in the services and music of the local church brought him to the attention of the prior of a nearby abbey of Premonstrants. Through him, Haüy was introduced to a colleague in Paris and obtained a scholarship to the College of Navarre. Haüy eventually became an usher, and in 1764, was appointed regent (master) of the fourth class.[2]
Haüy also progressed in his religious training. He was
After his ordination, Haüy became regent (teacher) of the second class at the Collège du Cardinal-Lemoine.[2] Through his friendship with his spiritual director,
His brother Valentin Haüy was the founder of the first school for the blind, the Institution des Jeunes Aveugles (Institute for Blind Youth) in Paris.[2]
Crystallography
An accident apparently directed René-Just Haüy's attention to what became a new field in
"The observation I have just noted is that which has served to develop my ideas on the structure of crystals. It presented itself in the case of a crystal that the citizen Defrance was kind enough to give me just after it had broken off from a group this enlightened amateur was showing me, and which formed part of his mineralogical collection. The prism had a single fracture along one of the edges of the base, by which it had been attached to the rest of the group. Instead of placing it in the collection I was then forming, I tried to divide it in other directions, and I succeeded, after several attempts, in extracting its rhomboid nucleus." René-Just Haüy, Traité de minéralogie (1801)[2]
Studying the fragments inspired Haüy to make further experiments in crystal cutting. Breaking down crystals to the smallest pieces possible, Haüy concluded that each type of crystal has a fundamental primitive, nucleus or “integrant molecule” of a particular shape, that could not be broken further without destroying both the physical and chemical nature of the crystal. He further argued that crystal structures are made up of orderly arrangements of these integrant molecules in successive layers, according to geometrical laws of crystallization.[5][3][6][4][7] Crystals that had been classed together previously were identified as being of separate mineral species if their fundamental structure differed. Heavyspar, for example, was differentiated into specimens containing barium and strontium.[3]: 180 The value of Haüy's discovery was immediately recognized.[6]
Haüy and his contemporaries worked with limited evidence. They could observe a crystal's
Between 1784 and 1822, Haüy published more than 100 reports discussing his theories and their application to the structure of crystalline substances.[4]: 85
Haüy first stated his laws of decrement in Essai d'une théorie sur la structure des crystaux (1784). It was a radical departure from his previous works, introducing his theory of molé constituantes or constituent molecules.
Haüy created comprehensive collections containing hundreds of pear-wood models of
Haüy is also known for his observations on pyroelectricity. He detected pyroelectricity in calamine, an oxide of zinc, as early as 1785.[12] He studied pyroelectricity in a number of other minerals including tourmaline and related them to crystalline structure.[13] He showed that electricity in tourmaline was strongest at the poles of the crystal and became imperceptible at the middle.[3]: 182–183 Haüy published a book on electricity and magnetism, Exposition raisonné de la théorie de l'électricité et du magnétisme, d'après les principes d'Æpinus, in 1787.[4]
On February 12, 1783, Haüy was elected to the Académie royale des sciences de Paris (French Academy of Sciences) with the rank of an adjoint in botany, there being no vacancy in either physics or mineralogy. In 1788, he became as an associate in natural history and mineralogy.[2]
French Revolution
During the French Revolution, Haüy refused to take an oath accepting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, and became a non-juring priest. He was thrown into prison after the monarchy was overthrown on August 10, 1792. Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire interceded on his behalf. Haüy was released just a few days before the September Massacres of September 2–7, 1792 in which many of the clergy were killed.[4]: 85 [5][14][15]
On August 8, 1793, in spite of the efforts of Antoine Lavoisier, the Académie royale des sciences de Paris was dissolved by the National Convention.[16][17] It was not restored until August 22, 1795, when it became known as the Institut National des Sciences et des Arts (National Institute of Sciences and Arts).[17][18]
Before its suppression, the Academy of Sciences had formed a working group to develop a uniform system of weights and measures for use throughout France. Lavoisier was a major proponent, and on March 30, 1791, he submitted a plan on behalf of the Commission on Weights and Measures, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly. Lavoisier and Haüy were tasked with determining the density of water. As of January 4, 1793, they determined the weight of a cubic decimeter of distilled water at the temperature of melting ice, the kilogram.[19]
On August 1, 1793, the National Convention passed a decree, in favor of developing uniform weights and measures across France. On September 11, 1793, they established a Temporary Commission of Weights and Measures made up of twelve scientists, including Haüy, whose task was to carry out the decree.[19]: 155 [20]
The work of the commission was disrupted by political events. In November 1793, Lavoisier and several others were arrested and removed from the Commission. On May 8, 1794, Lavoisier was guillotined.[21] Nonetheless, Haüy remained secretary of the Commission through this turmoil.[4] The law of 18 Germinal an III was enacted on April 7, 1795, formally establishing the metric system in France.[19]
On July 12, 1794, a public decree reorganized the
On November 9, 1794, Haüy also became a professor of physics at the École normale supérieure.[2] In 1802, Haüy became a professor of mineralogy at the
Haüy's work was appreciated by
After 1814 Haüy was deprived of his appointments by the Restoration government. He spent his final days in poverty, dying in Paris on June 1, 1822, even if "June 3" is systematically reported.[5] The confusion in Haüy's death date (June 1 instead of June 3) is an 1823 error by Cuvier, rectified in 1944 by A. Lacroix[24] but still often misreported.
Recognition
In 1817, René-Just Haüy was elected an honorary member of the New York Academy of Sciences.[25]
His name is the thirteenth inscribed on the south-east side of the Eiffel Tower.[26]
The mineral
Works
The following are Haüy's principal works:
- Essai d'une théorie sur la structure des crystaux (1784) via Gallica
- Exposition raisonnée de la théorie de l'électricité et du magnétisme (in French). Paris: veuve Nicolas Desaint. 1787.
- De la structure considérée comme caractère distinctif des minéraux (1793)
- Exposition abrégé de la théorie de la structure des cristaux (1793) BNF
- Extrait d'un traité élémentaire de minéralogie (1797)
- Traité de minéralogie (5 vols, 1801) BNF: Vol 1 Vol 2 Vol 3 Vol 4 Vol 5
- Traité élémentaire de physique (2 vols 1803, 1806) Google Books
- Tableau comparatif des résultats de la cristallographie, et de l'analyse chimique relativement à la classification des minéraux (1809) BNF
- Traité des pierres précieuses (1817) BNF
- Traité de cristallographie (2 vols, 1822) Google Books
He also contributed papers, of which 100 are enumerated in the Royal Society's catalogue, to various scientific journals, especially the Journal de physique and the Annales du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle.
See also
- Centered octahedral number
- List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics
References
- ^ Brock, H. (1910). The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kunz, George F. (1918). "The life and work of Haüy". American Mineralogist. 3: 60–89. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-1530788194. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9780520001985. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0199659845. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ S2CID 119731041. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ a b c "Crystal Structure From Macroscopic Geometry to Atomic Arrangement". Beautiful Chemistry. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ Bressan, David (30 December 2014). "A tribute to the Year of Crystallography - Haüy´s Models". History of Geology.
- ISBN 978-94-017-8992-9.
- ^ Gratacap, Louis Pope (1918). "Haüy's Traité de minéralogie". American Mineralogist. 3: 100–125. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ "t.e. 183". Thomas Eyck. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Or Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature (8 ed.). Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black. 1855. p. 561. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ISBN 9781120959034. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ISBN 978-0195041385. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ISBN 978-0143038832. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ JSTOR 286050.
- ^ "The Paris Academy". The Euler Archive. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87169-186-6. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ Hallock, William (1906). Outlines of the Evolution of Weights and Measures and the Metric System. New York, London: New York. p. 54. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- . Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "History of the School of Mines and of the Collections". Musée de Minéralogie. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ a b "HAÜY René Just, minéralogiste (1743-1822)". Sciences et Techniques - Minéralogie. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
- doi:10.3406/bulmi.1944.4560. Retrieved 4 June 2022.)
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(help - ^ Hovey, Edmund Otis (1909). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Vol. XIX. New York: Published by the Academy. p. 373.
- ^ "72 Names Written on Eiffel Tower". From France With Love. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ISBN 9780785834984.
- ^ Bruun-Neergaard, Thomas-Christophe (1807). "De la Haüyne". Journal de Physique, de Chimie et d'Histoire Naturelle. LXV (July): 120–121. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
External links
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Haüy, René Just". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "René-Just Haüy". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- George F. Kunz. “The Life and Work of Haüy.” American Mineralogist. Volume 3, number 6, 1918. Pages 61–89, plates 5–11; Also: Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club. Volume 3, pages 61–89, plates 5–11 [sic]. This was for the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the birth of the famous French mineralogist.
- François Farges, Haüy 2022.