[Nicolas Lemery, a pluridisciplinary Scientist]

Nicolas Lemery was born in Rouen, on November 17th 1645. He entered into an apprenticeship in order to become an apothecary in Rouen, and then he went to Paris in King’s Gardens where he became a pupil of Christopher Glaser. He went then to Montpellier where Matte La Faveur was demonstrator in chemistry. When he came back to Paris, he bought an apothecary office and delivered courses of chemistry, in his laboratory, rue Galande. He redacted in 1675 the first version of his Course of Chemistry, which was many times republished and translated in various languages. He developed especially his theories of the reaction between acids and alkalis. He was a Protestant and had to withdraw his office and choose to become a Physician, but when the Edit of Nantes was abrogated, he was converted to Catholicism. In 1697, he published the first edition of his Universal Pharmacopoeia, followed by his Universal Treatise on Simple Drugs in 1698. These two books were both republished and translated many times. His Treatise on Antimony was published in 1707. He became associate chemist at the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1699, and full member in 1700. He died in 1715. He played a very important role in the evolution of sciences.