Roberto Duarte

Roberto Duarte da Silva (25 February 1837, Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde - 8 February 1889, Paris) was a Cape Verdean chemist. Career Duarte Silva began at the age of 14 as an apprentice in a pharmacy. Later he came to Lisbon to work in the Farmácia Azevedo, and studied at the School of Pharmacy (Escola de Farmácia) of the University of Lisbon, there, he also received his alma mater. For some year...

Roberto Duarte da Silva (25 February 1837, Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde - 8 February 1889, Paris) was a Cape Verdean chemist. Career Duarte Silva began at the age of 14 as an apprentice in a pharmacy. Later he came to Lisbon to work in the Farmácia Azevedo, and studied at the School of Pharmacy (Escola de Farmácia) of the University of Lisbon, there, he also received his alma mater. For some years he lived in Macau and Hong Kong, where he founded his own pharmacy. He studied the compounds of amyl bases and propylamine at the laboratory of Charles Adolphe Wurtz, and achieved total synthesis of glycerine at a laboratory of Charles Friedel. In 1863 he went to Paris, and taught analytical chemistry at the École des Mines de Paris (now the Mines ParisTech), the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures (now the École Centrale Paris), and the École supérieure de physique et de Chimie industrial de la ville de Paris from 1882 until his death. Through these years he taught and was active in research, especially in the field of organic chemistry. Duarte Silva was presented with the Jecker Prize (Prix Jecker) by the French Academy of Sciences in 1885. In 1887 he became president of the Société Chimique de France. Among his students was chemist Charles Lepierre, who settled in 1888 at his suggestion in Portugal. A street is named in his honor in São Domingos de Benfica, in Lisbon. Legacy Since 2007, he is featured on a Cape Verdean $500 escudos banknote. A plaque is commemorated at his former house in Ribeira Grande. The plaque reads in Portuguese, it is translated into English as "Here Roberto Duarte Silva was born, notable Cape Verdean chemist, 1837-1889". References Further reading Laurence Lestel (dir.), "Roberto Duarte Silva", in Itinéraires de chimistes: 1857-2007, 150 ans de chimie en France avec les présidents de la SFC, EDP Sciences, Les Ulis ; SFC, Paris, 2008, p. 495-499 ISBN 978-2-86883-915-2 Charles Lepierre: Centenário de Roberto Duarte Silva. Homenagem prestada ao mestre. In: Revista de chimica pura e applicada (Centenary of Roberto Duarte Silva), 3. vol., issue 12, 1937, no. 3/4, p. 97–107 (not evaluated) Carlos Perreira Roberto Duarte Silva: um notável da ciência, 82nd Edition (in Portuguese) Sabrina Requedaz Cap-Vert: Loin des yeŭ du monde External links Online biography at the Portuguese Chemistry Society (in Portuguese) Archive from Joaquim Salal Roberto Duarte Silva, grande cientista cabo-verdiano (Roberto Duarte Silva, Greatest Cape Verdean Scientist) (in Portuguese)