Courtois, Bernard 1777-1838
French chemist

Born in Dijon, he studied pharmacy in Auxerre and chemistry in Paris, later working in the laboratory at the �cole Polytechnique and at the Th�nard Laboratory. While investigating opium with Baron Louis Guyton de Morveau he isolated morphine, the first alkaloid known. In 1804 he took over the management of his father's factory, which made saltpetre from seaweed ash. In 1811 he accidentally added too much sulphuric acid to the ash and produced a violet gas which condensed into dark crystals; his discovery of iodine was announced at the Institut de France in 1813. In the 1820s Courtois abandoned the ailing saltpetre industry and attempted unsuccessfully to make a living by preparing and selling compounds of iodine. He died in poverty.