Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila (April 24, 1787 - March 12, 1853) was a Spanish-born French toxicologist and chemist, the founder of the science of toxicology. In Orfila's time the primary type of poison in use was arsenic, but there were no reliable ways of testing for its presence. Orfila created new techniques and refined existing techniques in his first treatise, Traite des poisons, greatly enhancing their accuracy. He died in 1853 at the age of 65. Line engraving by P. F. Bertonnier, undated.

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Mathieu Orfila, Spanish-French Toxicologist

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