Overview

Bernard Courtois, also spelled Barnard Courtois, (February 12, 1777 - September 27, 1838) was a French chemist, born in Dijon, France who discovered Iodine in 1811. He also isolated Morphine, the first known alkaloid.

Courtois was acknowledged by Humphry Davy and Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac as the true discoverer of iodine. He went into manufacturing high-quality iodine and its salts in 1822. In 1831 he was awarded 6,000 francs as part of the Montyon Prize by L'Academie royale des sciences for the medicinal value of this element. He struggled financially for the rest of his life and died September 27, 1838. In the year of his death, the Journal de chimie médicale drily noted his passing under the heading "Obituary" as:

"Bernard Courtois, the discoverer of iodine, died at Paris the 27th of September, 1838, leaving his widow without fortune. If, on making this discovery, Courtois had taken out a certificate of invention, he would have realized a large estate.

References

• Bernard Courtois