Paris bread

Theophile Jules Pelouze (Valognes, Normandy, 13 February 1807-Paris, 31 May 1867) studied under Gay-Lussac (whose acquaintance he made in an omnibus) in circumstances of some privation. His lodging was so small that he humorously said he found it necessary to open the window to find space to put on a coat he dined on bread and water, which he said tended to clear the mind. In 1830 he became professor at Lille, in the centre of an industrial area, and worked on beet-sugar. He returned to Paris, where he succeeded Gay-Lussac at the ficole Polytechnique and later Thenard and Dumas at the College de France. He became president of the Commission of the Mint in 1848 and later a member of the Municipal Council. ... 

Interesting historical details on the discovery of iodine in hara mor (bread of the sea) can be found in the small book by Philippe Jacquin, le Gohmonier, published by Berger-Levrault, Paris, in 1980. The word iodine comes from Greek and refers to die purple color of die vapor of this element. 

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