Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois

<h2 id="life">Life</h2>
De Chancourtois was born in 1820 in <a href="/facts/Paris/DrNHpwnA">Paris</a>. At age eighteen, he entered the renowned <a href="/facts/%C3%89cole_polytechnique/0DS7aMaR">École polytechnique</a>, one of the best known French <a href="/facts/Grandes_%C3%A9coles/WurCHwXN">grandes écoles</a> of engineering and management. While he was there, de Chancourtois was a pupil of three famous French scientists, <a href="/facts/Jean-Baptiste_%C3%89lie_de_Beaumont/Bt93T2kI">Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont</a>, <a href="/facts/Pierre_Guillaume_Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_le_Play/h0BLrnPJ">Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ours-Pierre-Armand_Petit-Dufr%C3%A9noy/DoSqsd0u">Ours-Pierre-Armand Petit-Dufrénoy</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a> After completing his studies at École Polytechnique, de Chancourtois went on a biological expedition into Philippines, Luzon and Visayas. In 1848, de Chancourtois went back to Paris and joined the teaching faculty as professor of mine surveying at the <a href="/facts/%C3%89cole_Nationale_Sup%C3%A9rieure_des_Mines_de_Paris/xLpmkXIf">École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris</a>. He worked with le Play to organize a collection of minerals for the French government.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> In 1852, De Chancourtois was named the professor of geology at École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> In 1867, de Chancourtois was awarded the <a href="/facts/Legion_of_Honour/XmLQTz71">Legion of Honour</a> by <a href="/facts/Napoleon_III/F29546rc">Napoleon III</a> of France. De Chancourtois led several overseas expeditions during the course of his life and served as the Inspector of Mines in Paris from 1875 until his death. As a mine inspector, he introduced safety laws to prevent methane gas explosions, which were frequent occurrences at the time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a> He died in 1886 in Paris.

<h2 id="organizing-the-elements">Organizing the elements</h2>
See also: <a href="/facts/History_of_the_periodic_table/54vj6AVe">History of the periodic table</a>

In 1862, two years before <a href="/facts/John_Alexander_Reina_Newlands/hxYMKwkM">John Alexander Reina Newlands</a> published his classification of the elements, de Chancourtois created a fully functioning and unique system of organising the <a href="/facts/Chemical_element/0jducgWD">chemical elements</a>. His proposed classification of elements was based on the newest values of atomic weights obtained by <a href="/facts/Stanislao_Cannizzaro/CXm8UfK1">Stanislao Cannizzaro</a> in 1858.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> De Chancourtois devised a spiral graph that was arranged on a cylinder, which he called vis tellurique, or telluric helix because <a href="/facts/Tellurium/v7QvfIvS">tellurium</a> was the element in the middle of the graph.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> De Chancourtois ordered the elements by increasing atomic weight, with similar elements lined up vertically.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
A.E.B. de Chancourtois plotted the atomic weights on the surface of a cylinder with a circumference of 16 units, the approximate atomic weight of <a href="/facts/Oxygen/acyn6o8r">oxygen</a>. The resulting helical curve, which de Chancourtois called a telluric helix, brought similar elements to corresponding points above or below one another on the cylinder.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a> Thus, he suggested that "the properties of the elements are the properties of numbers."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> He was the first scientist to see the <a href="/facts/Periodic_table/umdGIfUb">periodicity</a> of elements when they were arranged in order of their atomic weights. He saw that similar elements occurred at regular atomic weight intervals.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> Despite de Chancourtois' work, his publication attracted little attention from <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemists</a> around the world. He presented the paper to the <a href="/facts/French_Academy_of_Sciences/zF42DYQv">French Academy of Sciences</a> which published it in Comptes Rendus, the academy's journal.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> De Chancourtois's original diagram was left out of the publication, making the paper hard to comprehend. However, the diagram did appear in a less widely read geological pamphlet.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> The paper also dealt mainly with geological concepts, and did not suit the interests of many chemistry experts. It was not until 1869 that <a href="/facts/Dmitri_Mendeleev/xdouRrx8">Dmitri Mendeleev</a>'s <a href="/facts/Periodic_table/umdGIfUb">periodic table</a> attracted attention and gained widespread scientific acceptance. He always managed to put the names of his four children into his work by writing their names on a corner of his work. Landon, Lynelle, Steve and Berdine were on all his work.

<h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2>
<ul><li>"Sur la distribution des minéraux de fer," in Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences, 51 (1860), 414–417.</li>
<li>"Études stratigraphiques sur le départ de la Haute-Marne." Paris, 1862.</li>
<li>"Vis tellurique," in Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences, 54 (1862), 757–761, 840–843, 967–971.</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3A%22Chancourtois%2C%20Alexandre-Émile%20Béguyer%20de%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Alexandre-Émile%20Béguyer%20de%20Chancourtois%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Chancourtois%2C%20Alexandre-Émile%20Béguyer%20de%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Alexandre-Émile%20Béguyer%20de%20Chancourtois%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Chancourtois%2C%20A%2E%20B%2E%20d%2E%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Alexandre-Émile%20Béguyer%20de%20Chancourtois%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Alexandre-Émile%20Béguyer%20de%20Chancourtois%22%29%20OR%20%28%221820-1886%22%20AND%20Chancourtois%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29">Works by or about Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois</a> at the <a href="/facts/Internet_Archive/PHStU8Lo">Internet Archive</a></li>
<li>2007, Eric Scerri,The periodic table: Its story and its significance, Oxford University Press, New York, <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780195305739</li>
<li>2021, Carmen Giunta, "<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-67910-1_5">Vis tellurique of Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois</a>," in 150 Years of the Periodic Table, Springer,</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">D. H. Rouvray – Endeavour, Elements in the history of the Periodic Table 2004 – Elsevier "As if on cue, only 18 months after the Karlsruhe Congress, the earliest version of the Periodic Table Émile Beguyer de Chancourtois (1819–1886) in April 1862 [19]." <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Organizing the Elements". Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2007. <a href="http://www.3rd1000.com/history/periodic.htm" target="_blank">http://www.3rd1000.com/history/periodic.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois (1820–1886)" (in French). Annales des Mines. Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2007. <a href="http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois.html" target="_blank">http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Philippe Jacques Edmond Fuchs (1887). "Notice Nécrologiqu sur M.A.E. Béguyer de Chancourtois, Inspecteur Général des Mines" (in French). Annales des Mines. Archived from the original on 11 September 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2007. <a href="http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois2.html" target="_blank">http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois2.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Philippe Jacques Edmond Fuchs (1887). "Notice Nécrologiqu sur M.A.E. Béguyer de Chancourtois, Inspecteur Général des Mines" (in French). Annales des Mines. Archived from the original on 11 September 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2007. <a href="http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois2.html" target="_blank">http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois2.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Philippe Jacques Edmond Fuchs (1887). "Notice Nécrologiqu sur M.A.E. Béguyer de Chancourtois, Inspecteur Général des Mines" (in French). Annales des Mines. Archived from the original on 11 September 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2007. <a href="http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois2.html" target="_blank">http://www.annales.org/archives/x/chancourtois2.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Nice of the Periodic Chart". 23 March 2002. Archived from the original on 26 January 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2007. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070126235711/http://homepage.mac.com/dtrapp/periodic.f/periodicity.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070126235711/http://homepage.mac.com/dtrapp/periodic.f/periodicity.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"Development of the Periodic Table: Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 9 February 2007.[permanent dead link‍] <a href="http://www.chemsoc.org/networks/learnnet/periodictable/scientists/index.htm?chancourtois.htm" target="_blank">http://www.chemsoc.org/networks/learnnet/periodictable/scientists/index.htm?chancourtois.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 September 2002. Retrieved 9 February 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20020912030831/http://www.britannica.com/nobel/macro/5001_20_45.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20020912030831/http://www.britannica.com/nobel/macro/5001_20_45.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"Development of the Periodic Table: Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 9 February 2007.[permanent dead link‍] <a href="http://www.chemsoc.org/networks/learnnet/periodictable/scientists/index.htm?chancourtois.htm" target="_blank">http://www.chemsoc.org/networks/learnnet/periodictable/scientists/index.htm?chancourtois.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Early Attempts at the Periodic Table". Infoplease. Archived from the original on 20 August 2003. Retrieved 9 February 2007. <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0905215.html" target="_blank">http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0905215.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 September 2002. Retrieved 9 February 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20020912030831/http://www.britannica.com/nobel/macro/5001_20_45.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20020912030831/http://www.britannica.com/nobel/macro/5001_20_45.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 September 2002. Retrieved 9 February 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20020912030831/http://www.britannica.com/nobel/macro/5001_20_45.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20020912030831/http://www.britannica.com/nobel/macro/5001_20_45.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">"Early Attempts at the Periodic Table". Infoplease. Archived from the original on 20 August 2003. Retrieved 9 February 2007. <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0905215.html" target="_blank">http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0905215.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">M. Beguyer de Chancourtois (1862). "Mémoire sur un classement naturel des corps simples ou radicaux appelé vis tellurique 54, 757–761". Comptes rendus. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2008. <a href="http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k30115/f757.chemindefer" target="_blank">http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k30115/f757.chemindefer</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">"Development of the Periodic Table: Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 9 February 2007.[permanent dead link‍] <a href="http://www.chemsoc.org/networks/learnnet/periodictable/scientists/index.htm?chancourtois.htm" target="_blank">http://www.chemsoc.org/networks/learnnet/periodictable/scientists/index.htm?chancourtois.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois open-in-new

Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois