Mathieu Orfila
Mathieu Joseph Bonaventur Orfila (born April 24, 1787 in Maó , Menorca ; † March 12, 1853 in Paris ) was a Spanish-born, French chemist and is considered the founder of toxicology .
Life
Orfila first studied chemistry and medicine in Valencia and Barcelona before moving to Paris , where he received his doctorate in medicine in 1811 . He set up a small laboratory in his apartment and began to research various poisons. In 1813 he published his first book Traité des poisons ... ou Toxicologie générale .
In 1819 Orfila became professor of medicinal (later forensic) chemistry at the University of Paris. After the publication of his book Leçons de médecine légale in 1823, Orfila was considered the first poison expert in Europe. In 1831 Orfila was appointed dean of the medical faculty at Paris University. He was a corresponding member of the Académie des Sciences since 1815 .
Orfila mainly dealt with the poison arsenic , as this poison was used very often in murders and attempted murder at the time. In 1840 he appeared as an expert witness in the trial of Marie Lafarge , who was accused of murdering her husband Charles with arsenic. Orfila detected arsenic in the exhumed body of Charles Lafarge and at the same time ruled out an immigration of arsenic from the cemetery soil into the corpse. His report led to the conviction of Marie Lafarge.
Orfila died after a brief illness on March 12, 1853 in Paris and was buried on the Cimetière Montparnasse .
Works (selection)
-
Traité des poisons tirés des règnes mineral, végetal et animal, ou toxilogie générale, considérée sous les rapports de la physiologie, de la pathologie et de la médecine légale . Crochard, Paris 1814-1815. Volume I, Part 1, 1814 digitized ; Volume I, Part 2, 1814 digitized ; Volume II, Part 1, 1815, digital copy ; Volume II, Part 2, 1815 digitized
- John Augustine Waller (translator). A general system of Toxicology: or a treatise on poisons, drawn from the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, considered as to their relations with physiology, pathology, and medical jurisprudence. By MP Orfila. Translated from the French . Cox & son, vol I, London 1816 (digitized) vol II London 1817, (digitized) ; second edition, vol. I, London 1821 (digitized) , vol. II, London 1821 (digitized version)
- Sigismund Friedrich Hermbstädt (translator). General toxicology or poison science: in which the poisons of the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms from the physiological, pathological and similar. medico-judicial aspects are examined. After the French of Mr. MP Orfila . Amelung, Berlin 1818, part I digitized ; Part II digitized ; Part III digitized ; Part IV digitized version --- Otto Bernhard Kühn (translator). Orfila's general toxicology or treatise on the poisons of the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms: in physiological, pathological and forensic medical terms . Lehnhold, Leipzig 1839, Volume I (digitized) , Volume II (digitized) --- G. Krupp (translator). Textbook of toxicology. Edited by M. Orfila after the fifth ... edition from the French with independent additions . Vieweg and Son, Braunschweig 1852, Volume I (digitized version)
- 1817: Éléments de chimie appliquée à la médicine et aux arts
- 1823: Leçons de médecine légale
- 1830: Traité des exhumations juridiques
- 1841: Recherches sur l'empoisonnement par l'acide arsénieux
literature
- Jürgen Thorwald: The Century of Detectives Volume 3, Handbook for Poisoners , Knaur Verlag, 1972
- Jose Ramon Bertomeu-Sanchez, Agusti Nieto-Galan (Eds.): Chemistry, Medicine, And Crime: Mateu JB Orfila (1787-1853) And His Times , Science History Pubns, May 2006
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jürgen Thorwald: The Century of Detectives Volume 3, Handbook for Poison Murderers , Knaur Verlag, 1972, p. 20.
- ^ List of members since 1666: Letter O. Académie des sciences, accessed on January 29, 2020 (French).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Orfila, Mathieu |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Orfila, Mathieu Joseph Bonaventur (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French chemist and forensic scientist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 24, 1787 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Maó , Menorca |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 12, 1853 |
| Place of death | Paris |