BAUME, ANTOINE (1728-1804), French chemist, was born at Senlis. He devised many improvements in technical processes, e.g., for bleaching silk, dyeing, gilding, purifying saltpetre, etc., but he is best known as the inventor of the hydrometer associated with his name (often in this connection improperly spelt Beaume). His most important book is his Elemens de pharmacie theorique et pratique (g editions, 1762-1818).