About Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, also called François Lecoq de Boisbaudran (18 April 1838 – 28 May 1912), was a self-taught French chemist known for his discoveries of the chemical elements gallium, samarium and dysprosium. He developed methods for separation and purification of the rare earth elements and was one of the pioneers of the science of spectroscopy. == Biography == Lecoq de Boisbaudran was a member of a noble family of Huguenots from the French provinces of Poitou and Angoumois. The Huguenots were French Protestants, a population that was devastated during the French Wars of Religion (1561–1598). The Edict of Nantes (1598) granted substantial civil rights to the Huguenots even though it maintained Catholicism's position as the established religion of France. The Edict of Nantes was overturned by the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685), which officially sanctioned persecution of Protestants. The Lecoq de Boisbaudran family was of considerable fortune until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, after which much of their property was confiscated and sold. Paul-Émile (Francois) Lecoq de Boisbaudran was a son of Paul Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1801–1870) and his wife Anne Louise. Paul Lecoq de Boisbaudran established a successful wine business in Cognac, benefiting from the hard work of the entire family including young Paul-Émile. Anne Louise Lecoq de Boisbaudran was well educated and taught her son Paul-Émile history and foreign languages, including English.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.