René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur was a French scientist who made outstanding contributions to several branches of science. He is perhaps best recognized for his work which established how the process of digestion works in animals. Réaumur as born in 1683 in La Rochelle, France. Although there is little record of his early years or his education, it is known that at the age of 20 he moved to Paris. In 1708 he became a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

Early in his career Réaumur was put in charge of a government sponsored project known as Description des arts et méitiers, which required that he collect information on all of France's arts, industries and professions. This experience gave Réaumur a diverse background in science and technology which he put to good use. For example, his chemical knowledge helped...