Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure (14 October 1767 - 18 April 1845) was a
SwissSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
and student of
plant physiologyPlant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology , plant ecology , phytochemistry , cell biology, and molecular biology.Fundamental processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition,...
who made seminal advances in
phytochemistryPhytochemistry is in the strict sense of the word the study of phytochemicals. These are chemicals derived from plants. In a narrower sense the terms are often used to describe the large number of secondary metabolic compounds found in plants. Many of these are known to provide protection against...
.
The eldest son of
Horace-Bénédict de Saussure200px|thumb|Portrait of Horace-Bénédict de Saussure Horace-Bénédict de Saussure was a Swiss aristocrat, physicist and Alpine traveller, often considered the founder of alpinism.-Life and work:Saussure was born in Conches, near Geneva, in 1740.His early interest in botanical studies led him...
, he was born in
GenevaGeneva, is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie...
. He lived quietly and avoided society; yet like his ancestors he was a member of the Genevan representative council, and gave much attention to public affairs. In the latter part of his life he became increasingly reclusive, and died in the city of his birth.
While a young man, Nicolas-Théodore accompanied his father in his
AlpineThe Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
journeys and assisted him by the careful determination of many physical constants.
Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure (14 October 1767 - 18 April 1845) was a
SwissSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
and student of
plant physiologyPlant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology , plant ecology , phytochemistry , cell biology, and molecular biology.Fundamental processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition,...
who made seminal advances in
phytochemistryPhytochemistry is in the strict sense of the word the study of phytochemicals. These are chemicals derived from plants. In a narrower sense the terms are often used to describe the large number of secondary metabolic compounds found in plants. Many of these are known to provide protection against...
.
The eldest son of
Horace-Bénédict de Saussure200px|thumb|Portrait of Horace-Bénédict de Saussure Horace-Bénédict de Saussure was a Swiss aristocrat, physicist and Alpine traveller, often considered the founder of alpinism.-Life and work:Saussure was born in Conches, near Geneva, in 1740.His early interest in botanical studies led him...
, he was born in
GenevaGeneva, is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie...
. He lived quietly and avoided society; yet like his ancestors he was a member of the Genevan representative council, and gave much attention to public affairs. In the latter part of his life he became increasingly reclusive, and died in the city of his birth.
While a young man, Nicolas-Théodore accompanied his father in his
AlpineThe Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
journeys and assisted him by the careful determination of many physical constants. He was attracted to chemistry by
LavoisierAntoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ; ), the father of modern chemistry, was a French noble prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
's discoveries, but he never became as great. He took a leading share in improving the processes of ultimate organic analysis; and he determined the composition of
ethanolEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug, best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and in modern thermometers. Ethanol is one of the oldest recreational drugs...
,
etherDiethyl ether, also known as ether, ethyl ether and ethoxyethane, is a clear, colorless, and highly flammable liquid with a low boiling point and a characteristic odor. It is the most common member of a class of chemical compounds known generically as ethers. It is an isomer of butanol...
and some other commonly occurring substances. He also studied
fermentationFermentation is the process of deriving energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. This is in contrast to cellular respiration, where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor,...
, the conversion of
starchStarch or amylum is a polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds.Starch is produced by all green plants as an energy store and is a major food source for humans....
es into
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
s, and many other processes of minor importance. The majority of his 36 published papers dealt with the chemistry and physiology of plants, the nature of soils, and the conditions of vegetable life, and were republished under the title
Recherches chimiques sur la vegetationism ("Chemical investigations of vegetationism").
Saussure showed that the increase in mass of the plant as it grows could not be due only to uptake of
CO2Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state...
, but also to the uptake of
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
. Thus the basic reaction by which
photosynthesisPhotosynthesis is a process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of Bacteria, but not in Archaea...
is used to produce food (such as
glucoseGlucose , a monosaccharide also known as - grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology. The living cell uses it as a source of energy and metabolic intermediate...
) was outlined.
The plant genera
SaussureaSaussurea is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to cool temperate and arctic regions of Asia, Europe, and North America, with the highest diversity in alpine habitats in the Himalaya and central Asia...
and
Saussuria are named after him.
His sister,
Albertine Necker de SaussureAlbertine Adrienne Necker de Saussure was a Swiss writer and educationalist and an early advocate of education for women.-Life:...
, is a noted early writer on the education of women.
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