BUCQUET, JOHN BAPTISTE MICHAEL, a celebrated chemist, was born at Paris on the 18th of February 1746. After distinguishing himself in the course of his educa tion at school, he was sent by his father, who was an ad vocate, to study the profession of the law. His attention, however, had not been long directed to this subject, when it was attracted to the study of the sciences, and his time was henceforth devoted to chemistry, medicine, and ana tomy. Having attended the lectures of the most cele brated teachers, and spent a great part of his finances in the acquisition of knowledge, he resolved to become a candidate before the faculty of medicine, for a licence, free of expense, which is always given to the most de serving at the opening of every session. Though Buc quet was not the successful candidate, yet he never lost sight of the object of his ambition, and, by the assistance of his friends, he was soon enabled to defray all the ex pence of a regular licence, at the end of which the first place was assigned to him by the faculty. The lectures on chemistry and natural history, which he now began to deliver, were numerously attended. By his eloquence as a public speaker, and the interest which he contrived to throw upon every subject which came under his re view, he attracted to his lectures all ranks of society, and widely extended his reputation as a philosopher.
In order to assist the students who attended his lec tures, he published in 1771, in 2 vols. 12mo, his Introduc tion a l'etude des corps naturels tires du regne mineral ; and in 1773 appeared his Introduction a l' etude des corps tires du regne vegetate.
In the year 1775, Bucquct was appointed to give lec tures on Pharmacy ; and upon the death of M. Roux, in 1776, the Faculty of Medicine unanimously appointed him professor of Chemistry, and his first course of lec tures was delivered in 1777.
Having now the command of a more extensive labara tory, our author directed his attention to his favourite study ; and the results of his chemical researches were read before the Royal Academy of Sciences. His first memoir, entitled, Experiences lzhysico-chimiques sur l'air 9ui sc degage des corps dans le temp de few" decomposition, &c. was published in the 7th volume of the Menzoires
Iles S'avans Etrangers, and contains a series of excel lent experiments on the proportion and effects of fix ed air. By working, however, with two small quantities, he fell into some mistakes respecting the specific gravi ty and the acidity of that gas. His second memoir, en titled Jllemoire sur quelques circonstances qui accompag went la dissolution du sel ammoniac par la ehaux, &c. was presented to the academy in 1773, and published in the ninth volume of the illemoircs des &vans Etrangers, p. 563. In the same volume he has likewise published Memoires sur plusicurs combinations salines de !'arsenic. The celebrated Duke de la Rochefoucault and M. Buc quet made a number of joint experiments on the analysis of zeolite. They obtained from it a good deal of water, and the residue, formed with vitriolic acid and salt, ar ranged in small needles, from which they concluded that zeolite is not a volcanic product, and that it contains a particular earth analogous to magnesia. (See the them. &v. Etrang. tom. ix.) The attention of M. Buc quet was next directed to the analysis of blood. His me moir upon this subject, which is said to be a model of precision, was read before the academy on the 1 lth of l‘Iay, but has not yet been given to the public. These researches were followed by a series of experiments, made along with M. de la Planche, on the best method of preparing the different kinds of xther, but particu larly the muriatic and the nitrous. The memoir in which these experiments are detailed has not yet been printed.
The talents of Bucquct were now joined to those of the celebrated Lavoisicr, for the purpose of verifying the fundamental experiments of the animal kingdom. These distinguished chemists have settled a number of uncertain facts on the progress of heat, and on thena ture of acids and gases. They repeated many experi ments which required intense heat, arid a very compli cated apparatus ; and the result of their labours was drawn up in 15 articles, which were presented to the Royal Academy of Sciences.