1800-1884

French chemist who conducted pioneering work in organic chemistry. He developed a method for determining the nitrogen content of organic compounds and demonstrated that in organic compounds halogens could replace hydrogen. Dumas collaborated with Eugene-Melchior Peligot to isolate methyl alcohol and establish the alcoholic series. He also worked with Justus von Liebig to study organic chemical reactions. Dumas's work on atomic weights helped to supercede the theories of Jons Berzelius.