Lebon, Philippe

Philippe Lebon, (born May 29, 1767, Brachay, France—died Dec. 2, 1804, Paris), French engineer and chemist, inventor of illuminating gas.

While employed as an engineer at Angoulême, Lebon was called to be professor of mechanics at the School of Bridges and Highways in Paris. In 1797 he began work that led to his invention of gas lighting and heating. His “thermolampe,” which he patented and exhibited in 1799, burned gas distilled from wood. Invited to aid in preparations for the coronation of Napoleon I in 1804, he was murdered by prowlers on the day of the ceremony, according to the most common account of his mysterious death.

Lebon is also credited with having planned a gas motor that was provided with an electric fuel pump and spark ignition. He may also have been the first to suggest (1801) the value of compression of the charge in an internal-combustion engine.