Two perfumers helped lay the foundations of organic chemistry

By day, Édouard Laugier and Auguste Laurent worked in the back room of Laugier Père et Fils, a Parisian perfumery established by Laugier’s grandfather. Surrounded by boilers and flasks, they distilled the cinnamon, mint, orange peel and rose that were among the base materials for the scents and tonics sold by the shop. After hours, the two men, who had met on the left bank in Paris in the early 1830s, and who shared a passion for chemistry, turned to an enigma that had baffled the brightest minds in Europe.