Reaumur

ra-o-mur' (1683-1757), a French scientist. He was educated at the Jesuit College of Poitiers, and settled at Paris in 1703. His scientific acquirements attracted the attention of the learned men of Paris. Five years later he was chosen a member of the Academy of Sciences, of which he continued an active member for half a century. He studied the formation of pearls. He was a learned student of fossils. He proved to the Academy that a peculiar gem, known as the Languedoc turquoise, was the tooth of an extinct animal. He brought an improved method of making steel to the notice of the manufacturers of France. He studied processes of making pottery and invented a new kind of enamel since known by his name. He is best known, however, by the thermometer which bears his name. See Thermometer