Nicolas Appert (1749 - 1841)

Born 17 Nov 1749 in Châlons-sur-Marne, Champagne, France

Husband of Elisabeth Benoist — married 14 Jul 1785 in Paris, Île-de-France, France

Descendants

Died 1 Jun 1841 at age 91 in Massy, Seine-et-Oise, France

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Biography

Nicolas Appert is Notable.

Nicolas Appert (pronounced /nikɔla apɛʁ/), known as the "father of canning" was the French inventor of airtight food preservation. He described his invention as a way "of conserving all kinds of food substances in containers".

Saint-Jean Church and the White Horse inn

Nicolas Appert, born 17 November 1749, was the son of Claude Appert, innkeeper at l'Auberge du Cheval Blanc (the White Horse Inn) in Châlons-sur-Marne, and his wife Marie Huet. He was baptized on the day of his birth in Saint-Jean parish.^[1] He worked in the family business in his youth, becoming familiar with the techniques used by cooks and confectioners and the methods then used to preserve food.

In 1784, Appert settled in Paris where he opened a confectioner's shop, A La Renommée at 47, rue des Lombards. He married Elisabeth Benoist, native of Reims, on 14 July 1785 in the parish of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie in Paris.^[2] They had four known children, one son and three daughters. Their second daughter, Françoise Aglaé, had two children out of wedlock and died in 1928. The youngest, Amélie Justine, married Jean Louis Lefébure. Due to the destruction of most of Paris's archives, the fate of the two remaining children, son Charles Pierre Nicolas and daughter Elisabeth Marie Nicole, is unknown.

Nicolas Appert was active in the French Revolution when it started in 1789, becoming president of the local Section des Lombards in 1794. He was arrested and spent 3 months in prison but managed to avoid a trial. After his release, he focused his work on finding solutions to the weaknesses of the food preservation processes known at the time (cold, smoking, and preservatives such as salt, alcohol, vinegar, fat, sugar, etc), which were only partially effective and quite costly. He perfected the process which made the canning of food possible, called appertization in his honor, in 1795. He placed the food in glass jars, sealed them with cork and sealing wax and placed them in boiling water (in later years, he switched to using an autoclave). The jars he used were similar to bottles of champagne, but with a wider neck. This method of preservation, in addition to respecting the taste of food, largely protected its nutritional value, including that of vitamin C, thus avoiding scurvy.

Appert bottle

In 1802, Appert opened the first canning factory in the world in Massy; he eventually employed 50 workers. His products were first tested by the French Navy and much appreciated, so that Appert was encouraged to write to the Government and solicit an award. Given the choice of either taking out a patent, or offering his discovery to the public and receive a government award, Appert chose to let the public benefit from his discovery rather than enrich himself. He recieved and award of 12,000 francs, part of which was used to publish L'Art de conserver pendant plusieurs années toutes les substances animales et végétales (The Art of Preserving Animal and Vegetable Substances). In 1810, British inventor and merchant Peter Durand patented his own method, but this time in a tin can, so creating the modern-day process of canning foods.

Appert was the inventor of broth in tablets, processes for clarifying fermented drinks, condensed milk, and the first preserved milk (two weeks storage in midsummer) - all discoveries published in 1831, in the second edition of his book.

Although Appert's canned goods were widely appreciated, this did not translate into financial success. Nicolas Appert died in poverty on 1 June 1841 in Massy, at the age of 91;^[3] he was buried in a pauper's grave. A statue in his honor was later erected outside the ruins of the Old Church in Massy.

Biographie

Nicolas Appert, né le 17 novembre 1749, est le fils de Claude Appert, aubergiste du Cheval-Blanc, et de Marie Huet. Il est baptisé le jour même dans la paroisse Saint-Jean de Châlons en Champagne, avec pour parrain Nicolas Regnault, capitaine enseigne de l'arquebuse, et pour marraine mademoiselle Marie Anne Maurice, tous deux de la paroisse Saint-Alpin^[1]

Nicolas Appert, maître confiseur rue des Lombards, épouse Elisabeth Benoist, fille majeure de feu Jacques Georges Benoist négociant, le 14 juillet 1785 dans la paroisse Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie à Paris^[2]

Nicolas Appert, natif de Châlons (Marne), fils de Claude Appert et Marie Huet, veuf d'Elisabeth Benoist, est mort le 1er juin 1841 à Massy, à l'âge de 91 ans^[3].

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Acte de baptême: Châlons-sur-Marne. Saint-Jean. Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1748-17582 E 119/21Archives départementales de la Marne. Vue 48 https://archives.marne.fr/ark:/86869/dgjptf8cr91b/84a48ed2-b667-486a-b85f-f6e1b6454bf9
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Mariage: Fonds Andriveau - Mariages à Paris (1613-1805), via Filae.com
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Acte de décès: Acte 29, NMD 1841 Massy, Archives de l'Essonne cote 4E/1945 1840-1845 vue 45 https://archives.essonne.fr/ark:/28047/mpxkt8cw3dzf/fd198f77-6283-4cb3-80bf-fd2c41a007a9

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Appert
• Nicolas Appert, l'inventeur de la conserve biographie sur le site "Banque des Savoirs - Essonne" (en français)