Louis Jacques Thenard, French chemist, 1824

Louis Jacques Thenard, French chemist, 1824. Engraved by Ambroise Tardieu after a drawing from nature. Thenard (1777-1857) was born in Louptiere, Aube in France but left for Paris as a young man to pursue a career in chemistry. In 1799 he discovered hydrogen peroxide and also produced a pigment known as Thenard's blue, an ultramarine colouring used for porcelain. In 1808 he successfully isolated the element boron in collaboration with Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850). He also contributed to the studies of chlorine, iodine and potassium, and worked on esters. He wrote many scientific papers and a standard textbook, entitled 'Treatise on Chemistry', which was published to acclaim in 1813. He was elected to the Academy of Sciences and was made a baron by Charles X in 1825. ©SSPL/Science Museum