Nicolas Théodore de Saussure

Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure (14 October 1767, in Geneva – 18 April 1845, in Geneva [1]) was a Swiss chemist and student of plant physiology who made seminal advances in phytochemistry. He is one of the major pioneers in the study of photosynthesis.[2]

Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure
Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure
Born(1767-10-14)14 October 1767
Geneva, Republic of Geneva
Died18 April 1845(1845-04-18) (aged 77)
Geneva, Switzerland
NationalityGenevan, and Swiss since 1815
Scientific career
Fieldschemistry, phytochemistry,
plant physiology, photosynthesis
InstitutionsUniversity of Geneva
InfluencesAntoine Lavoisier, Jean Senebier, Charles Bonnet
InfluencedJustus von Liebig, Jean-Baptiste Boussingault
Author abbrev. (botany)N.T.Sauss.

Biography

Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure was born into a wealthy, aristocratic, Genevan family, many of whose members were accomplished in the natural sciences, including botany.[2] He was the second child of Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740–1799), who was an eminent geologist, meteorologist, physicist and Alpine explorer, and Albertine-Amélie Boissier (1745–1817).[3] His great uncle, Charles Bonnet, was a famous naturalist whose research included experiments on plant leaves.[4] His grandfather Nicolas de Saussure was a noted agriculturist,[5] for whom Nicolas-Théodore was named. Nicolas-Théodore was called "Théodore" to distinguish him from his grandfather, and he published his professional papers under the name Théodore de Saussure after his father died. (While his father was alive, Théodore's papers were published under the name "de Saussure fils", as was the custom of the day for the sons of scientists having the same surname.[2])

Nicolas-Théodore and his two siblings were educated at home by their father.[6] From 1782 to 1786, he attended the l'académie de Genève, where he studied math, science, and history.[7] During the early years of the French Revolution he traveled abroad, meeting with eminent scientists in London.[8] He traveled abroad again in the late 1790s, and in 1800 became acquainted with Parisian scientists and other luminaries.[7] While there, he took courses in chemistry and presented a paper. Upon returning to Geneva in 1802,[9] he accepted an honorary professorship of mineralogy and geology at the University of Geneva. Although he taught very little, he remained on the faculty until 1835.[10] He lived quietly and somewhat reclusively, doing research in his own private laboratory (as was the custom for scientists of his day), but, like others in his family, he was active in public affairs in Geneva,[9] and he served on the Genevan representative council.[11]

Nicolas-Théodore's sister, Albertine Necker de Saussure, was a noted early writer on the education of women.[12] Nicolas-Théodore left no direct heirs, but he is the great uncle of Ferdinand de Saussure, an important linguist and semiotician.[13]

Career

As a young man, Nicolas-Théodore accompanied his father on his Alpine expeditions, some of them under arduous conditions, and assisted him with experiments in physics, chemistry, mineralogy, and meteorology.[14] In one experiment, Nicolas-Théodore confirmed Boyle's law by a new method: He carefully weighed a tightly closed flask at many different altitudes and found that the differences in weight were exactly proportional to the differences in barometric pressure readings.[15] In other research in the physical sciences, he named the mineral dolomite after Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, in March 1792.[16]

Nicolas-Théodore was attracted to chemistry by Lavoisier's discoveries,[17] and he adopted Lavoisier's new system of chemistry early in life.[18] He became interested in the chemistry and physiology of plants, including gas exchange and the ways that different soils affected their growth.[19] His early papers on these subjects laid the groundwork for some of the chapters in his magnum opus, Recherches chimiques sur la Végétation ("Chemical Research on Plant Growth"), published in 1804.[2] This book was the first summation of the fundamental process of photosynthesis and a major contribution to the understanding of plant physiology. In contrast to some of his predecessors in the field of photosynthesis research, Saussure based his conclusions on extensive quantitative data that he had collected.[19]

In Recherches chimiques sur la Végétation, Saussure showed that the increase in the mass of a plant as it grows could not be due only to the uptake of CO2, but was also a result of the incorporation of water into plant dry matter. In addition, Saussure demonstrated that plants obtain their carbon from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, not through uptake from humus in the soil, as his immediate predecessors in photosynthesis research had generally believed.[2] He also showed that plants require mineral nutrients, which they take up from the soil, and nitrogen, although he did not trace the source of plant nitrogen definitively to the soil.[2] Saussure's finding that the source of plant minerals was the soil disproved the widely held view that mineral substances in plants arose from vague "transmutations" within the plant.[2] His work enabled completion of the basic, overall chemical equation of photosynthesis, according to which carbon dioxide and water, in the presence of light, are converted by a green plant into fixed carbon (such as glucose, food for the plant), with gaseous oxygen released as a byproduct.[20] Based on his accomplishments in plant chemistry and physiology, Saussure is considered the last of the major early pioneers of photosynthesis research, completing the work begun by his predecessors, including Jan van Helmont, Joseph Priestley, Jan Ingen-Housz, and Jean Senebier.[21]

For the several decades following publication of Saussure's book, his findings about the atmospheric source of plant carbon and the soil source for plant mineral nutrients were largely neglected, and little progress was made in further unraveling the chemical processes within plants. Then, Saussure's findings were re-discovered and revived by the eminent German chemist Justus von Liebig.[22] In addition, field research by French agricultural chemist Jean-Baptiste Boussingault substantiated Saussure's conclusions on the importance of mineral nutrients that plants take up from the soil.[23] Saussure's findings have had a significant impact on many disciplines, including chemistry, agriculture, agronomy, soil science, plant physiology, and plant nutrition. He is considered one of the pioneers of modern agriculture.[24]

In addition to his studies in plant physiology, Nicolas-Théodore made important advances in the analysis of organic substances. He determined the composition of alcohol and ether,[17][25] and studied fermentation, the conversion of starches into sugars, and many other biochemical processes.[17] In 1815 he was one of the founding members of Société Helvétique des Sciences Naturelles.

Honours
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Works
  • Recherches chimiques sur la Végétation. Chez laV.e Nyon, Paris. (Reprinted in facsimile: 1957, Gauthier-Villars, Paris; and 2010, Nabu Press)
    • Three translations of Recherches chimiques sur la Végétation:
      • First German translation: Theodor von Saussure's chemische Untersuchungen über die Vegetation with commentary, by F.S. Voigt. Reclam, Leipzig 1805.
      • Second German translation: Chemische Untersuchungen über die Vegetation . Vols. 1&2. Engelmann, Leipzig 1890 Digital edition by the University and State Library Düsseldorf
      • English translation: Chemical Research on Plant Growth: A translation of Théodore de Saussure's Recherches chimiques sur la Végétation by Jane F. Hill, Springer Science+Business Media, New York, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4614-4136-6.

Notes
  1. "Saussure, Nicolas Théodore de". Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  2. Hill, Jane F.; de Saussure, Theodore (2013). "Translator's Introduction". Chemical research on plant growth: A translation of Nicolas-Théodore's Recherches chimiques sur la VégétationV. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-4136-6. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  3. "Albertine Amelie Boissier".
  4. Bonnet, Charles (1754). Recherches sur l'usage des feuilles dans les plantes [Research on the use of leaves in plants] (in French). Göttingen: Chez Elie Luzac, fils. ISBN 9781363110759.
  5. Zumkeller, Dominique (2001). "Un père agronome: Nicolas de Saussure (1709–1791)" [An agronomist father: Nicolas de Saussure (1709-1791)]. In Sigrist, René (ed.). H.-B. de Saussure (1740–1799): un regard sur la terre [H.-B. de Saussure (1740–1799): A look at the Earth] (in French). Geneva: Bibliothèque d’Histoire des Sciences. Georg Editeur. pp. 395–408. ISBN 978-282570740-1.
  6. Macaire (1845). "Notice sur la vie et les écrits de Théodore de Saussure" [Notice on the life and writings of Théodore de Saussure]. Bibliothèque Universelle de Genève, Nouvelle Série (in French). 57: 102–139. Accessed November 1, 2016.
  7. Candaux, Jean-Daniel (2007). "Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure et ses archives : Un survol documentaire (Suisse)". Nicholas-Théodore de Saussure et ses archives: un survol documentaire (Suisse) [Nicholas-Théodore de Saussure and his archives: a documentary survey (Swiss); In: Robin P, Aeschlimann J-P, Feller C, eds., Histoire et agronomie: entre ruptures et durée]. Colloques et séminaires (in French). Paris: IRD Editions, coll. Colloques et séminaires. pp. 269–283. ISBN 978-2-7099-1626-4. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  8. Robin, Paul; Blondel-Mégrelis, Marika (2001). "1800 et 1840, physiologie végétale et chimie agricole. 1. Saussure, une publication à ressusciter" [1800 and 1840, plant physiology and agricultural chemistry. 1. Saussure, a publication to restore to memory]. Comptes rendus de l'Académie d'agriculture de France (in French). 87 (4): 31–59. ISSN 0989-6988. Accessed November 2, 2016.
  9. Hart, Helen (1930). "Nicolas Théodore de Saussure". Plant Physiology. 5 (3): 424–429. doi:10.1104/pp.5.3.424. PMC 440232. PMID 16652672.
  10. Borgeaud, Charles (1909). Histoire de l'Université de Genève, vol. 2. l'Académie de Calvin dans l'Université de Napoléon 1798–1814 [History of the University of Geneva, vol. 2. The Academy of Calvin in the University of Napoleon 1798-1814] (in French). Geneva: Georg & Co.
  11. Chisholm 1911, pp. 238–239.
  12. "Necker [-de Saussure], Albertine". Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  13. Joseph, John E. (2012). Saussure. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. pp. 38–40. ISBN 9780199695652.
  14. Freshfield, DW (1920). The Life of Horace Benedict de Saussure. London: Arnold. pp. 197–285. ISBN 978-1-177-72739-6.
  15. Macaire (1845). "Notice sur la vie et les écrits de Théodore de Saussure" [Notice on the life and writings of Théodore de Saussure]. Bibliothèque Universelle de Genève, Nouvelle Série (in French). 57: 102–139.
  16. Saussure le fils, M de. (1792): Analyse de la dolomie. Journal de la Physique, vol.40, pp. 161–173. Gardien, Guy (2002). "Introduction". Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu (in French). Editions Publibook. p. 9. ISBN 978-2-7483-1238-6.
  17. Chisholm 1911, p. 239.
  18. Nash, Leonard K. (1952). "Plants and the Atmosphere". In Conant, JB (ed.). Harvard case histories in experimental science, Case 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-674-67301-4.
  19. name="Nash LK 1952 p. 107"
  20. Rabinowitch, Eugene; Govindjee (1969). Photosynthesis. New York: Wiley. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-471-70423-2. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  21. Hill, Jane (2012). "Chapter 30: Early Pioneers of Photosynthesis Research". In Eaton-Rye, Julian J.; Sharkey, Thomas D.; Tripathy, Baishnab C. (eds.). Photosynthesis: Perspectives on Plastid Biology, Energy Conversion and Carbon Metabolism. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, Vol. 34. Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London, New York: Springer. pp. 771–800. ISBN 978-1-234-56789-7.
  22. von Liebig J (1840) Die Organische Chemie in ihrer Anwendung auf Agricultur und Physiologie. Vieweg und Sohn., Braunschweig (English translation, 1847, by L. Playfair and W. Gregory, as Chemistry in its applications to agriculture and physiology, 4th edn. Printed for Taylor and Walton, London)
  23. Boussingault, Jean-Baptiste (1860–1891). Agronomie, chimie agricole et physiologie, 8 vols., second edition [Agronomy, agricultural chemistry and physiology] (in French). Paris: Mallet-Bachelier, then Gauthiers-Villars.
  24. Cannon, GG (1963). Great Men of Modern Agriculture. New York: MacMillan. pp. 125–134. ISBN 0385152884.
  25. Ihde, AJ (1964). The Development of Modern Chemistry. New York: Harper & Row. p. 177. ISBN 0-06-356225-1.
  26. IPNI.  N.T.Sauss.
  27. "N.T. de Saussure (1767 - 1845)". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  28. "Nicolas Theodore de Saussure (1767 - 1845)". List of Fellows of the Royal Society, 1660-2007. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  29. "Prof. Dr. Nicolas Théodore de Saussure". Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
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References
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Saussure, Nicolas Théodore de" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 238–239.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "Translator's Introduction". Chemical Research on Plant Growth: A translation of Théodore de Saussure's Recherches chimiques sur la Végétation. Translated by Hill, Jane F. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. 2013. ISBN 978-1-4614-4136-6.
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