Charles Gerhardt was born in 1816. When Charles was fifteen, he was sent to study science at the Karlsruhe Polytechnikum for two years, and later studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig. His father, a Swiss-Alsatian businessman, had wanted him to take over the family's white iron business, but Gerhardt left school to join the Army. After several years, a family friend arranged for his discharge and he began his studies more earnestly in 1836. After studying for two years with Leibig at Giessen, Leibig suggested he continue his studies in Paris with Dumas. Gerhardt became Dumas' lecture assistant and worked for his doctorate, which he received in 1841. For ten years, he worked as a professor of Chemistry at Montpelier, but his unsociable behavior toward his co-workers lead to his dismissal. He died five years later at age forty.

As a researcher, he worked closely with Laurent and the two...