Jan Baptista van Helmont

Jan Baptista van Helmont:

Jan Baptista van Helmont was a Flemish physician and alchemist.

Birth:

January 12, 1579 in Brussels, Belgium

Death:

December 30, 1644 in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant (Belgium)

Claim to Fame:

Helmont was a Flemish physician and alchemist who introduced the term 'gas' to chemistry. He was the first to identify air was made up of different gases. He was also the first to show the gas given off by burning charcoal was identical to the gas given off during fermentation and called it 'gas sylvestre', better known today as carbon dioxide.