Henri Debray

Vocation

Notable

French chemist best remembered for his collaborative research with Sainte-Claire Deville involving the properties of platinum metals, in particular, the melting of platinum and its alloys. Their process for melting platinum remained the chosen method until induction furnaces became available decades later. In 1860, the two scientists were the first to melt an appreciable quantity of iridium. In 1847 he began his studies at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and several years later became an instructor at the Lycée Charlemagne (1855). From 1875 onward, he taught classes in chemistry at the École Normale Supérieure, where in 1881 he succeeded Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville as professor of chemistry. During his career, Debray served as assayer to the Bureau de Garantie of Paris; was vice-president of the Société d'Encouragement pour l'Industrie Nationale and was a member of the Académie des sciences. He died on 19 July 1888, in Paris, aged 60. Link to Wikipedia biography