Swiss chemist whose work with atomic weights suggested the possibility of isotopes and the packing fraction of nuclei and whose study of the rare-earth elements led to his discovery of ytterbium in 1878 and codiscovery of gadolinium in 1880.

After studying at the Paris Polytechnic School and School of Mines, he worked for a year with Justus von Liebig at Giessen, in Germany. He became professor of chemistry (1841) and of mineralogy (1845) at Geneva, posts he held until his retirement (1878) from the university. In establishing the formula of silica as SiO₂, he made a substantial contribution to mineralogy. His preparation of silicotungstic acid was one of the first examples of a complex inorganic acid.