Vauquelin, Nicolas-Louis 1763-1829
French chemist

Born in Saint-Andr�-d'H�bertot, Normandy, he was an assistant to pharmacists in Rouen and in Paris where he met Antoine Fran�ois Fourcroy, becoming his assistant around 1784. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and scientific collaboration. Among the posts Vauquelin held during the turbulent years of the French Revolution were those of Inspector of Mines, Professor of Assaying at the School of Mines, and official assayer of the precious metals of Paris. From 1804 to 1809 he held the chair of applied chemistry at the Museum of Natural History and from 1811 to 1822 he was Professor of Chemistry at the faculty of medicine of the University of Paris. He is chiefly remembered for the analyses of organic substances that he carried out with Fourcroy and for the discovery of chromium. He also found a new compound, beryllia (beryllium aluminium silicate), but the metal - later named 'beryllium' - was not isolated until 1828 when Friedrich W�hler and Antoine Bussy both prepared it. He was the first to isolate an amino acid, asparagine, which he obtained from asparagus.