Marcellin Berthelot
Pierre Eugne Marcellin Berthelot FRS FRSE was a French chemist and politician noted for the ThomsenBerthelot principle of thermochemistry. He synthesized many organic compounds from inorganic substances, providing a large amount of counterevidence to the theory of Jns Jakob Berzelius that organic compounds required organisms in their synthesis. He is considered as one of the greatest chemists of all time. He gave all his discoveries not only to the French government but to humanity.
He was born in Rue du Mouton, Paris, France, the son of a doctor. After doing well at school in history and philosophy, he became a scientist. He decided with his friend, the great historian Ernest Renan, not to be educated in a grande cole where the vast majority of intellectual were doing their education.
Source: Wikipedia