Émile Duclaux | |
|---|---|
 Emile Duclaux in the 1900s | |
| Born | (1840-06-24)June 24, 1840 Aurillac, Cantal, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, France |
| Died | May 3, 1904(1904-05-03) (aged 63) Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, France |
| Occupation(s) | Physicist, Biologist and Chemist |
| Children | 3; Jacques Eugene Duclaux |
Émile Duclaux (24 June 1840 – May 2, 1904) was a Frenchmicrobiologist andchemist born inAurillac,Cantal.
He studied at the College of Aurillac, theLycée Saint-Louis inParis and atÉcole Normale Supérieure. In 1862 he began work as an assistant in the laboratory ofLouis Pasteur (1822–1895). During his career, he taught classes inTours (1865),Clermont-Ferrand (1866),Lyon (from 1873) andParis (from 1878). In Paris, he was a professor ofmeteorology at the Institute ofAgronomy. For much of his career he was associated with the work of Louis Pasteur.
In 1888 he was elected to theAcadémie des sciences, and in 1894 became a member of theAcadémie Nationale de Médecine.
Duclaux's work was largely in the fields ofchemistry,bacteriology,hygiene andagriculture. Duclaux initiated the custom of naming enzymes by adding the suffix "-ase" to the enzyme's substrate. His intention was to honor the first scientists (namelyAnselme Payen, 1795–1871; andJean-François Persoz, 1805–1868) to isolate an enzyme; "diastase", in 1833.[1][2][3] With Pasteur, he collaborated in the study ofsilkworm diseases, and also took part in experiments to debunk the theory ofspontaneous generation. In the 1870s, he undertook studies ofphylloxera, anaphid-like pest that plaguedgrape vineyards. In addition, he performed research on the composition of milk, and conducted studies on beer and wine.
In 1887 he began publication of theAnnales de l'Institut Pasteur, withCharles Chamberland (1851-1908),Jacques-Joseph Grancher (1843–1907),Edmond Nocard (1850–1903) andPierre Paul Émile Roux (1853–1933) as members of the first editorial board. Following Pasteur's death in 1895, Duclaux became director of the Institute, with Roux and Chamberland serving as its sub-directors.
Duclaux was a prolific writer, some of his better known publications wereTraité de microbiologie,L'hygiène sociale,Ferments et maladies andPasteur, histoire d'un esprit, the latter being a biography dedicated to Pasteur.
Being actively involved in French politics, he was a vocal supporter ofAlfred Dreyfus (1859-1935), when the latter was unjustly accused of treason. Duclaux's second wife,Agnes Mary Frances Duclaux (maiden name Agnes Mary Frances Robinson 1857–1944), was a well-known author, and his son,Jacques Eugène Duclaux (1877–1978), was a highly regarded chemist.
