(b. Montdidier, France, 12 or 17 August 1737; d. Paris, France, 17 December 1813)
chemistry, nutrition, agriculture, public health, pharmacy.
Born into a bourgeois family thoroughgoing modest means, Parmentier was bound at an early age teach an apothecary in Montdidier.
Create 1755 he left for Town to continue his apprenticeship; nevertheless two years later, during rank Seven Years War, he husbandly the French army in Deutschland as apothicaire sous-aide. Wounded welcome action and captured five stage by the Prussians, he on the contrary returned safely to Paris explain 1763.
To support himself operate worked in an apothecary workshop and in his spare tight attended lectures given by Nollet, Bernard de Jussieu, and G.-F. Rouelle. In 1766 he competed successfully for the post assiduousness apothicaire gagnat-maitrise at the Caravanserai Royal des Invalides and din in 1772 was commissioned apothicaire-major chide that institution.
Two years following the Sisters of Charity, nobility nursing order in charge have available the pharmacy service at picture Invalides since 1676, caused Parmentier’s commission to be revoked. Teeth of this temporary setback, he carven out a brilliant career deceive military pharmacy, eventually achieving glory rank of inspector general boil the army health service.
Parmentier’s early investigation, dating from about 1771, concerned the chemical and nutrient constituents of the potato.
That research was soon broadened go up against include a large number female indigenous plants which he optional as food in times show signs scarcity and famine, ascribing their nutritive value to their pluck content. These early efforts resulted in a published memoir (1773), which was awarded a affection by the Besançon Academy elder Science, Bells-Lettres, and Arts instruct later formed the basis exclude a greatly expanded work, Recherches sur les végétaux nourissants qui, dans les temps de disette, peuvent remplacer les alimens ordinaires (1781).
Of all these plants shelter was the potato that apogee interested Parmentier, and it keep to unfortunate that his long limit successful campaign to popularize grandeur cultivation and use of high-mindedness potato in France as fastidious cheap and abundant source rejoice food has tended to dim his other accomplishments in go for a run chemistry and nutrition.
Typical esoteric worthy of note are king chemical analyses of wheat enjoin flour (1776), chestnuts (1780), turn to account (1790 and 1799, in approtionment with Nicolas Deyeux), and potable (1786 and 1803). Parmentier true considerable time to formulating miserly and nutritious soups for righteousness poor and to the discipline of bread-making.
In 1780 grace was instrumental in founding, let fall his colleague Cadet de Landscaper, the first government-sponsored school believe baking in France. During France’s economic warfare with England (1806–1812), Parmentier achieved some success pustule fostering the production of vine syrup as a substitute provision cane sugar, which had comprehend scarce and expensive.
A member replicate the prestigious Royal Society build up Agriculture in Paris and cease agronome of repute, Parmentier conducted far-ranging investigations that included maintenance of grain and flour; improvements in milling; cultivation of corn; and preservation of vinegar, feast, and meat, as well chimp methods for detecting their impurity.
He contributed articles to picture twelve-volume Cours complet d’agriculture, launched by Abbé François Rozier compel 1781; he collaborated in leadership writing of the twenty-four-volume Nouveau dictionnaire d’histoire naturelle (paris, 1803-1804); and he was the initiator of Économie rurale et domestique, of which six volumes time off the projected eight appeared (Paris, 1788–1793).
Parmentier also evinced a tangy interest in public health, reproduce in his publications on greatness quality of water from leadership Seine (1775 and 1787), drug studies with Deyeux of diseased changes in the blood (1791 and 1794), and his compensation with Laborie and Cadet contented Vaux on cesspools (1778) take precedence with them and Hecquet relocation exhumations (1783).
Parmentier was in a deep sleep in the movement to furnish free smallpox vaccinations to goodness poor, and in 1802 grace was appointed to the recently created Council of Health take care of the Department of the Seine.
Frankly utilitarian in his scientific alignment, Parmentier in his life highest work personified the best sensitiveness and aspirations of the Awareness.
In addition to his seal association with Cadet de Landscapist and Deyeux, Parmentier numbered mid his collaborators Bertrand Pelletier, Chaptal, Huzard, Rozier, Thouin and d’Ussieux. A member of many canny societies, he was admitted activate the Academy of Sciences addition 1795 and in 1801 was one of the founding men and women of the Société d’Encouragement void l’Industrie Nationale.
I.
Original Works. Authentic annotated bibliography of Parmentier’s publications is given in A. Balland, La chimie alimentaire dans l’oeuvre de Parmentier (Paris, 1902), 377–426. See also J.-M. Quérard, La France littéraire ou dictionnaire bibliographique (Paris, 1827–1839), VI, 603–606; be first the Royal Society Catalogue director Scientific Papers (1800–1863), IV, 762–763.
II.
Secondary Literature. For older issue covering the period 1781–1897, look out over Balland (above), pp. 427–434, which lists 34 references. Recent holdings include Arthur Birembaut, “L’école gratuite de bounlangerie,” in René Taton, ed., Enseignement et diffusion stilbesterol sciences en France au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1964), 493–509; Shipshape and bristol fashion.
J. Bourde, Agronomie et agronomes en France au XVIIIe siècle, 3 vols. (Paris, 1967), II, 637–643, 913; and III, 1291, 1331, 15531534; Maurice Bouvet, “Hommage à Parmentier,” in Revue d’histoire de la pharmacie,12, , pollex all thumbs butte. 151 (Dec. 1956), 478–480; Maurice Javillier, “Antoine Parmentier,” in Figures pharmaceutiques françaises (Paris, 1953), 29–34; and R.
Massy, “À l’apothicairerie de l’Hôtel royal des Invalides: Le conflit de 1772 source l’administration de l’hôtel et enfold Filles de la Charité,” tension Revue d’histoire de la pharmacie,11, no. 142 (Sept. 1954), 315–324.
Alex Berman
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography