A pioneer of experimental metallurgy: Monsieur de Réaumur

Abstract

At the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the regent Philippe d'Orléans requested the "Académie des Science" founded by Colbert in 1666, to prepare a "Description des Arts et des Métiers". As an active member of the Academy, Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur was asked to make a report on the manufacture of iron and steel. Born in 1683 in a family of recent nobility, he was very much attached to its traditions and privileges. At the age of 20, however, he abandoned his study of law to devote himself to mathematics and physics. Reaumur, in spite of his aristocratic background, and for his time, had an open mind and a great scientific curiosity. He considered that only carefully conducted experiments could give reliable answers. He also believed that rules must be deduced from experiments, rather than using experiments to prove already-made propositions. In 1722 the Academy published Reamur's twelve Memoirs on "L'Art de Convertir le Fer Forgé en Acier" (the art of converting iron into steel)*.