Biographies | Chemists of the world

Henry Louis Le Chatelier

-Henry Louis Le Chatelier (Paris, October 8, 1850- Miribel-les-Echelles September 17, 1936) was an influential French chemist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is most famous for devising Le Chatelier's principle, used by chemists to predict the effect of a change in conditions on a chemical equilibrium.

Le Chatelier was born on October 8, 1850 the son of engineer Louis Le Chatelier and Louise Durand. His father was an influential figure in French industry, who played important roles in the birth of the French aluminium industry, the introduction of the Martin-Siemens processes into the iron and steel industries, and the rise of rail transportation. Le Chatelier's father had a great influence on his son's future career. He had one sister (Marie) and four brothers (Louis 1853-1928, Alfred 1855-1929, George 1857-1935 and Andre 1861-1929). His mother raised the children according to very rigorous and strict principles, described by her son Henry: "I was accustomed to a very strict discipline: it was necessary to wake up on time, to prepare for your duties and lessons, to eat everything on your plate, etc. All my life I maintained respect for order and law. Order is one of the most perfect forms of civilization." (L. Guillet, REVUE DE METALLURGIE, Numero Special, janvier 1937).

As a child Le Chatelier attended the College Rollin in Paris. At the age of 19, after only one year of instruction in special engineering,he followed his father's footsteps and enrolled in the Ecole polytechnique on October 25 1869. Like all the pupils of the polytechnique, in September 1870 Le Chatelier was named second lieutenant and took part in the Siege of Paris. After achieving brilliant results in his technical schooling he entered the Ecole des Mines in Paris in 1871. Despite training as an engineer, and even with his interests in industrial problems, Le Chatelier chose to teach chemistry rather than pursue a career in industry. In 1887, he was appointed head of the general chemistry to the preparatory course of the Ecole des Mines in Paris. He tried unsuccessfully to get a position teaching chemistry at the Ecole polytechnique in 1884 and in 1897.

At the College de France Le Chatelier succeeded Schutzenberger as chair of inorganic chemistry. Later he taught at the Sorbonne university, where he succeeded Henri Moissan.