480 
OBITUARY. 
des  Sciences  in  1837.  Of  republican  views,  and  much  interested  in  poli- 
tics, he  became  prominent  through  the  revolution  of  1848.  The  provi- 
sional government  elected  him  to  a  place  which  until  then  belonged  to 
the  nobility  or  to  the  chief  dignitaries  of  the  state,  that  of  President  to 
the  Board  of  the  Mint  (President  de  la  Commission  des  Monnaies).  This 
position  he  held  until  his  death.  He  became  successively  knight,  officer, 
and  commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  His  private  laboratory  for 
pupils  in  the  Rue  Dauphine  closed  when  he  opened  a  laboratory  in  the 
mint. 
The  number  of  papers  published  by  Pelouze  is  very  great.  We  can 
only  mention  here  the  most  prominent  of  his  researches.  Among  these 
none  will  be  better  remembered  than  the  investigation  recorded  in  his 
paper  on  the  transformation  of  hydrocyanic  acid  into  ammonia  and  formic 
acid.  This  paper  was  published  in  1834,  but  the  importance  of  his  dis- 
covery became  evident  at  a  much  later  period,  when  hydrocyanic  acid  was 
first  produced  from  carbon  and  nitrogen.  Then  it  was  that  the  transform- 
ation which  Pelouze  had  effected  by  treating  hydrocyanic  with  a  strong 
solution  of  hydrochloric  acid  attained  its  remarkable  position  as  the  first 
instance  of  the  synthesis  of  an  organic  body  from  its  elements.  At  the 
time  of  the  discovery  its  real  importance  could  not  be  appreciated,  but 
even  then  the  relation  of  formic  to  hydrocyanic  acid  was  of  much  interest. 
Next  in  importance  to  this  memorable  paper  are  several  papers  on  the 
products  of  the  dry  distillation  of  lactic,  malic,  and  tartaric  acids.  Pelouze 
discovered  lactic  anhydrid  and  lactid.  Maleic  and  pyrotartaric  as  well 
as  pyrogallic  acid,  if  not  actually  discovered  wrere,  at  least,  chiefly  studied 
by  him.  The  salts  of  lactic  acid  were  likewise  examined  by  Pelouze,  and 
described  in  several  papers,  one  of  which  he  published  conjointly  with 
Gay-Lussac. 
A  memoir  on  mustard  oil  was  published  by  Dumas  and  Pelouze  ;  an- 
other on  asparamid  (asparaginej  and  asparamic  acid  by  Pelouze  and  Bour- 
ton,  and  a  joint  research  on  curarine  was  published  by  Pelouze  and  Claude 
Bernard.  In  mineral  chemistry  nitrosulphuric  acid  constitutes  his  chief 
discovery.  In  applied  science  numerous  contributions,  particularly  on 
fulminates  and  the  manufacture  of  percussion-caps,  and  above  all  on  glass, 
were  published  by  him  at  various  intervals.  Pelouze  had  an  interest  in 
large  glass  works  at  St.  Gobin,  and  his  last  communication  made  to  the 
Academy,  some  months  ago,  treated  on  the  subject  of  this  manufacture. 
A  treatise  on  chemistry  in  five  volumes  by  Pelouze  and  Fremy  has  seen 
three  editions,  the  last  of  which  was  published  in  1866.  All  these  publi- 
cations, if  they  do  not  place  him  among  the  very  first  French  savants,  will 
preserve  his  name  permanently  in  the  history  of  science.  His  great  kind- 
ness of  heart,  and  sincere  and  active  interest  for  his  pupils,  will  not  easily 
be  forgotten.  There  are  and  have  been  witnesses  to  these  genial  qualities 
in  England.  Professor  Crace  Calvert  and  the  late  Mr.  Stoikowitch  were 
assistants  to  Mr.  Pelouze.  During  the  last  year  important  researches  on 
aniline  colors  were  carried  on  in  his  laboratory  by  MM.  Girard,  de  Laire, 
and  Chapoteaut. — The  Laboratory,  i,  182,  June  8,  1867. 
