| Authorised form of name | Febure; Nicasius Le (c 1610 - 1669); chemist |
| Other forms of name | Nicaise Le |
| Fevre (Febvre), Nicasius Le |
| Fevre (Febvre), Nicolas Le |
| Other forms of surname | Fevre (Febvre) |
| Dates | c 1610 - 1669 |
| Nationality | French |
| Place of birth | Sedan, France, Europe |
| Date of birth | c 1610 |
| Place of death | Parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, England, Europe |
| Research field | Pharmacy |
| Chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
Protestant academy at Sedan, France; Apprenticeship with father (-1625-1630), then with Abraham Duhan
Career:
Apothecary, Sedan (-1646); Lecturer in pharmaceutical chemistry; Demonstrator of Chemistry at the Jardin du Roi, Paris (1650); Professor of Chemistry to Charles II (1660); Apothecary in Ordinary to the Royal Family (1660); Manager of the laboratory at St James's Palace
|
| Membership category | Original Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
| Proposer | Sir Robert Moray |
| RSActivity | Committee and panels:
Chemical Committee (1664) |
| Other Royal Society activity | Involved in experiments to attempt to volatise tartar (1663); Experiments with powder of sponges to cure struma [goitre] (1663) |
| Relationships | Parents: Claude Le Febure [Févre] and Françoise de Beaufort
Married: Philibert Le Febure [Févre] |
| PublishedWorks | RCN: 48433
RCN: 49347 |
| OtherInfo | Le Febure's main work of his career as a chemist and apothecary is his Traicté de la chymie (1660; English translation 1664). While much of its content can be traced to previous figures in the field, such as Paracelsus and van Helmont, the work's incorporation into Lemery's chemical textbook showcases Le Febure's influence in the field of chemistry. Overall, he split the discipline in a philosophical, a medical, and a pharmaceutical branch and his work was vital in communicating recent discoveries in the field to French and English audiences. His work at the French court also reached English scholars and royalists in exile during the Civil War, which is how John Evelyn (FRS 1660) attended his pharmaceutical lectures in 1647. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; ODNB
Authority:
OtherFormsOfName from Hunter, DNB and DSB
Notes:
Approximate year of birth from Hunter. The election date is Febure's re-election date into the Society after the grant of the second charter in April 1663. All Fellows admitted in a two-month window after this charter, until 22 June 1663, are considered Original Fellows. He was previously admitted into the Society on 4 December 1661. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/100199084 |
| Code | NA4274 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| DM/5/72D | 'Desiderata from Monsieur Le Febure' | c.1660s |
| DM/5/79 | 'Desiderata from Monsieur Le Febure' | c.1660s |
| NLB/62/832 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to A. Rischgitz Esquire; the Studios, 42 Linden Gardens, W.2. | 16 May 1922 |