Scientist and entomologist, b. 28 February 1683 (La Rochelle, France), d. 17 October 1757 (Saint-Julien-du-Terroux).
Réaumur conducted research in many fields and was also a successful inventor. He developed the Réaumur temperature scale. In 1710 King Louis XIV gave him the task of producing a compilation of France's natural and industrial resources. Réaumur improved the iron and steel making process; the cupola furnace, still in general use and the most economical for melting gray iron, goes back to his design of 1720.
His Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des insectes ("Memoirs to Serve the Natural History of the Insects") were published in six volumes between 1734 and 1742.
Réaumur investigated the chemical composition of Chinese porcelain and developed his so-called "Réaumur porcelain" in 1740. In 1752 he isolated gastric juice and studied its role in the digestive system.