Popularization of Chemistry in the 18th century: between Science and Society

Résumé En

Within the framework of the will of the State to develop the economy of France, the Chemistry developed highly in the country during the 18th century. Much was expected of it, in order to serve arts in particular. Thus its diffusion/dissmination within the society was encouraged to reach different publics (scholars, curious, doctors, craftsmen, investors …). And the chemistry was popularized: 1) through the concept of “chemical affinity” which quickly spread to the biological phenomena and even the sociological ones; 2) through the success of Rouelle’s teaching which a whole generation of chemists and intellectuals attended; 3) through the very coherent set of the numerous chemical articles of Diderot’s and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie which presented theoretical elements of chemistry as well as practical ones. The results were the constitution of an autonomous chemical science, which became at that time a full discipline, and a very effective application of chemistry to crafts. Thus, from 1740’s to 1780’s, around 3000 students are trained in chemistry per year in Paris, and many chemical manufactures came out. So chemistry was a science which joined together several social networks and covered a large part of technical and scientific knowledge. The creation of Annals of Chemistry in 1789 illustrated the fact that chemistry was much more present outside of the Académie Royale des Sciences than inside. Yet the Académie was created in 1666 to express a kind of symbolic fence between producers and consumers of sciences; such a distinction was not anymore relevant by the end of the 18th century.