Cornélie Lebon de Brambilla

The 1799 patent by Philippe Lebon to create the gas for the themolampe was the basis of the letter to Bonaparte. Cornélie Lebon (née de Brambilla) (16 January 1767 – 2 September 1812), was a French engineer who was also proficient in chemistry. During the French Revolutionary period, her husband Philippe Lebon (1767–1804), invented a process for distilling gas from wood for gas lighting. Following his mysterious death in 1804 in connection with Napoleon's coronation, she valiantly continued her his work while raising a small child and coping with substantial debts. Her devotion to the engineering project was quite unusual for a women of the times. In 1811, she published a memoir detailing Lebon's achievements, noting that she had continued to improve the thermolamp approach. She was subsequently awarded the Prix des arts chimiques (chemical arts prize) for bringing her husband's work to the attention of the authorities and was also awarded an annual annuity for her services.

Early life and education Françoise-Thérèse-Cornélie (known as Cornélie) de Brambilla was born on 16 January 1767 (or possibly in 1772) She submitted the memoir to the Société d'encouragement pour l'industrie nationale (Society for the Encouragement of National Industry), with a covering note explaining that while she hoped to bring the economic benefits of her husband's work to the attention of the pertinent authorities, she was happy to have been able to improve the invention by simplifying the equipment and increasing the number of products and applications. (Guidée par l’espoir de réveiller votre précieuse attention sur la manière économique inventée par Lebon de procéder à la distillation des combustibles et sur l'utilité des produits qu'on en retire, j'ai pris la très humble liberté d'essayer de remettre sous vos yeux, l'invention de mon mari. J'ai été assez heureuse pour la perfectionner, simplifier les appareils en multiplier les applications et augmenter les produits). Her influence was felt particularly in Liège, Belgium, where she installed one of the first gas lighting demonstrations at the premises of the Société Libre d'Émulation.