Antoine-Baudouin Poggiale

February 8, 1808 (age 71)

Valle di Mezzana, Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Upon graduation from the military teaching hospital in Strasbourg in 1828, Poggiale was assigned to several posts before obtaining a coveted position at the Val-de-Grace in Paris. This position lasted from 1831 to 1837 and provided the opportunity to earn a Doctor of Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine in 1833 and to pursue his scientific interests. Poggiale served as professor of chemistry at the military teaching hospital in Lille (1837-1847) and as chief pharmacist and professor of chemistry at the Val-de-Grace (1847-1858). In 1858 he became the top-ranking pharmacist (pharmacien inspecteur) in the French army and a member of the Army Health Council. In 1856 Poggiale was elected to the Paris Academy of Medicine and in I860 to the Council of Public Hygiene and Health of the Seine Department.

Antoine-Baudouin Poggiale

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chemist hygienist military scientist

Background

Antoine-Baudouin Poggiale was born on February 8, 1808, in Valle di Mezzana, Ajaccio, Corsica, the son of a Corsican country doctor.

Education

Poggiale was educated in Ajaccio and Marseilles. In 1828 he entered the military teaching hospital in Strasbourg in order to train for a career as an army pharmacist.

Career

Upon graduation from the military teaching hospital in Strasbourg in 1828, Poggiale was assigned to several posts before obtaining a coveted position at the Val-de-Grace in Paris. This position lasted from 1831 to 1837 and provided the opportunity to earn a Doctor of Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine in 1833 and to pursue his scientific interests.

Poggiale served as professor of chemistry at the military teaching hospital in Lille (1837-1847) and as chief pharmacist and professor of chemistry at the Val-de-Grace (1847-1858). In 1858 he became the top-ranking pharmacist (pharmacien inspecteur) in the French army and a member of the Army Health Council.

In 1856 Poggiale was elected to the Paris Academy of Medicine and in I860 to the Council of Public Hygiene and Health of the Seine Department.

Achievements

Among Poggiale’s most important investigations were his analyses of drinking and mineral waters, notably the sources of drinking water for the barracks and fortifications of the Paris region and the water from the Seine and Dhuis rivers. In 1853 he published a painstaking comparative analysis of the bread supplied to the troops in the French and European armies and in Paris custodial institutions; he also compared the quality of commercial flour with that found in military provisions.

Poggiale’s other achievements spanned his studies that included the chemical composition of blood in humans and animals, the physiological chemistry of sugar and glycogen, and the analysis of milk.

The publication of his Traite d'analyse chimique par la methode des volumes (Paris, 1858) further enhanced his reputation as an outstanding analytical chemist. In 1860 Poggiale brilliantly defended the application of chemistry to pathology and therapeutics, against the attacks of the eminent clinician Armand Trousseau (1801-1867).

Works

$Analyse de l\'eau min\u00E9rale acidul\u00E9e ferrugineuse d\'Orezza Analyse de l\'eau min\u00E9rale acidul\u00E9e ferrugineuse d\'Orezza$ $Du Pain de Munition Distribu\u00E9 aux Troupes des Puissances Europ\u00E9ennes, Et de la Composition Chimique du Son Du Pain de Munition Distribu\u00E9 aux Troupes des Puissances Europ\u00E9ennes, Et de la Composition Chimique du Son$

book
- Analyse de l'eau minérale acidulée ferrugineuse d'Orezza 1854
- Du Pain de Munition Distribué aux Troupes des Puissances Européennes, Et de la Composition Chimique du Son 1854

Membership

In 1856 Poggiale was elected to the Paris Academy of Medicine.

References

Dictionary of Scientific Biography
1975

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