Paul Jacques Malouin
Encyclopedia
Paul Jacques Malouin was a French chemist
and physicist
.
) who had sent him to Paris to study law. He settled in Paris in 1734 and opened a medical practice which attracted clients from the aristocracy and royal family.
With the help of Fontenelle
, a distant relation, he entered the French Academy of Sciences
in 1742 where his particular research interest was the application of chemistry to medicine. In 1745 he was appointed professor of chemistry at the Jardin du Roi.
For nine consecutive years he studied the epidemics raging in Paris and recorded the results of his research in his Mémoires published by the Academy of Sciences between 1746 and 1754, linking epidemic diseases to air temperature..
In 1753 Malouin began a formal association with the royal court when he bought from Lassone the position of médecin de la reine (physician to the king) for the sum of 22,000 livres; he was subsequently made physician to the Dauphine in 1770. Thereafter he spent increasing amounts of time at court, being granted an apartment in the Louvre
and having rooms at Versailles.
In 1742 Malouin described, in a presentation to the Royal Academy, a method of coating iron by dipping it in molten zinc (i.e. hot-dip galvanizing
).
In 1753 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society
and in 1767 was made a professor at the Collège de France
. In 1776 he was appointed professor at the Royal College
where he occupied the Chair of Medicine until his death in January 1778. It was recorded that at the time of his death his fortune amounted to 132,775 livres, 110,000 of which was in the form of state bonds. Another 18,500 was invested in the Compagnie des Indes; his personal possessions were valued at 3,275 livres.
's Encyclopédie Méthodique
and wrote articles for the Academie Des Sciences' Descriptions des Arts et Métiers
.
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
Career
Malouin graduated in medicine in 1730 against the wishes of his father (a legal official from CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
) who had sent him to Paris to study law. He settled in Paris in 1734 and opened a medical practice which attracted clients from the aristocracy and royal family.
With the help of Fontenelle
Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle , also called Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle, was a French author.Fontenelle was born in Rouen, France and died in Paris just one month before his 100th birthday. His mother was the sister of great French dramatists Pierre and Thomas Corneille...
, a distant relation, he entered the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
in 1742 where his particular research interest was the application of chemistry to medicine. In 1745 he was appointed professor of chemistry at the Jardin du Roi.
For nine consecutive years he studied the epidemics raging in Paris and recorded the results of his research in his Mémoires published by the Academy of Sciences between 1746 and 1754, linking epidemic diseases to air temperature..
In 1753 Malouin began a formal association with the royal court when he bought from Lassone the position of médecin de la reine (physician to the king) for the sum of 22,000 livres; he was subsequently made physician to the Dauphine in 1770. Thereafter he spent increasing amounts of time at court, being granted an apartment in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
and having rooms at Versailles.
In 1742 Malouin described, in a presentation to the Royal Academy, a method of coating iron by dipping it in molten zinc (i.e. hot-dip galvanizing
Hot-dip galvanizing
Hot-dip galvanizing is a form of galvanization. It is the process of coating iron, steel, or aluminum with a thin zinc layer, by passing the metal through a molten bath of zinc at a temperature of around 860 °F...
).
In 1753 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and in 1767 was made a professor at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
. In 1776 he was appointed professor at the Royal College
Royal College
A Royal College in some Commonwealth countries is technically a college which has received permission to use the prefix Royal. Permission is usually granted through a Royal Charter. The charter normally confers a constitution with perpetual succession and the right to sue or be sued independently...
where he occupied the Chair of Medicine until his death in January 1778. It was recorded that at the time of his death his fortune amounted to 132,775 livres, 110,000 of which was in the form of state bonds. Another 18,500 was invested in the Compagnie des Indes; his personal possessions were valued at 3,275 livres.
Publications
Malouin's main publication was a Treatise of Chemistry (1734), containing many instructions on the preparation of remedies used in medical practice at the time. He also contributed more than 75 articles on chemistry to Charles-Joseph PanckouckeCharles-Joseph Panckoucke
Charles-Joseph Panckoucke was a French writer and publisher. He was responsible for numerous influential publications of the era, including the literary journal Mercure de France and the Encyclopédie Méthodique, a successor to the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot.Panckoucke was born in the city of...
's Encyclopédie Méthodique
Encyclopédie Méthodique
The Encyclopédie méthodique par ordre des matières is a roughly 210 to 216 volumes encyclopedia that was published between 1782 and 1832 by the French publisher Charles Joseph Panckoucke, his son-in-law Henri Agasse, and the latter´s wife, Thérèse-Charlotte Agasse...
and wrote articles for the Academie Des Sciences' Descriptions des Arts et Métiers
Descriptions des Arts et Métiers
Descriptions des Arts et Métiers, faites ou approuvées par messieurs de l'Académie Royale des Sciences was published by the Académie Royale des Sciences of Paris between 1761 and 1788....
.
- Traité de Chimie : contenant la Manière de préparer les Remèdes qui sont les plus en Usage dans la Pratique de la Médecine. - Paris : Cavelier, 1734. Digital Edition