Antoine Jérôme Balard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antoine Jérôme Balard
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Balard in the 1870s
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| Born | 30 September 1802 |
| Died | 30 April 1876 (aged 73) |
| Alma mater | École de pharmacie de Montpellier |
| Known for | Discovery of bromine |
| Spouse(s) |
Sophie-Elisabeth Pascal
(m. 1838; died 1875) |
| Awards | Royal Medal (1830) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions |
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| Influenced | Marcellin Berthelot |
Antoine Jérôme Balard (born September 30, 1802 – died April 30, 1876) was a French chemist. He is famous for being one of the scientists who discovered the element bromine.
Contents
Balard's Life and Discoveries
Antoine Jérôme Balard was born in Montpellier, France, in 1802. He first worked as an apothecary, which is like a pharmacist. Later, he became a chemistry teacher. He taught at the university in his hometown.
Discovering Bromine
In 1826, Balard made a big discovery. He found a new substance in seawater. He realized it was a brand new chemical element and named it bromine. Interestingly, another scientist named Carl Jacob Löwig had also found bromine independently the year before. So, both are credited with this important discovery.
Teaching and Mentoring
Because of his discovery of bromine, Balard became very well-known. He was chosen to be a professor of chemistry in Paris. Later, he taught at the famous Collège de France.
Many important scientists learned from Balard. One of his students was Louis Pasteur, who was only 26 years old at the time. In Balard's lab, Pasteur made a key discovery about different types of crystals. This helped him understand how molecules are shaped. Balard also had Marcellin Berthelot as a student, who later became his assistant and colleague.
Other Chemistry Work
While finding bromine was his most famous work, Balard was a very busy chemist. He studied how chlorine compounds could be used for bleaching. He also tried to find ways to get useful chemicals like soda and potash from seawater. Even though new sources were found later, his efforts were important.
He also worked on organic chemistry, which is the study of carbon compounds. He published papers on different chemical reactions and compounds. Balard even helped Louis Pasteur design an experiment that showed that living things do not just appear out of nowhere, which is called spontaneous generation.
Friendship with John Stuart Mill
Antoine Jérôme Balard also had an interesting friendship with a famous thinker named John Stuart Mill. They met in 1820 when Mill was studying in Montpellier.
Mill wrote in his journal about visiting Balard's home. Balard showed him his collection of dried plants, called a herbarium. He even gave Mill some plants from the Montpellier area. They often went on trips together to look for plants near the city and by the sea.
Later, Mill wrote that Balard was his first true friend. He said Balard was a friend he chose himself, not someone he knew through family. A large part of John Stuart Mill's plant collection, which includes plants Balard gave him, is now kept in Australia at the National Herbarium of Victoria.
See also
In Spanish: Antoine-Jérôme Balard para niños
