Marcel Boll

Marcel Boll (15 September 1886, Paris – 12 August 1971, Paris) - French scientist, sociologist, philosopher, educator, scientific journalist (journalist specializing in scientific topics), and a founding member (1930) of the Rationalist Union (French: Union rationaliste). Boll was one of the most prolific contributors of articles to Les Cahiers Rationalistes (The Rationalist Notebooks) and Raison Présente (Reason Present), two journals published by the Rationalist Union. He was one of the main popularizers of the theory of relativity, the quantum theory, and other aspects of the physical sciences during the interwar period (1918-1939) and in the early 1950s. An advocate of neopositivism, his numerous works on physics, philosophy, sociology, education, and other subjects all reflect his neopositivist perspective. He was the first person to draw the French public's attention to the Vienna Circle (German: der Wiener Kreis). Louis Rougier (1889-1982) and Général Charles-Ernest Vouillemin (1865-1954) later joined Boll in being among the first to introduce and promote the Vienna Circle and its overall philosophical outlook (logical positivism) in France. Marcel Boll was born in the 18th arrondissement of Paris (Butte-Montmartre, Paris), and died in Palais-Bourbon, Paris (the 7th arrondissement of Paris). He was a son of a Councilor of the Council of Paris. In 1910 Marcel was approved to sit for the examination known as the Agrégation de sciences physiques at the ESPCI Paris (Higher School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry of the City of Paris), in which examination he scored in 11th place. In 1914 he graduated from ESPCI Paris with a Doctorate in Physical Sciences, his doctoral thesis being titled Recherches sur l'évolution photochimique des électrolytes (1914) (Research on the Photochemical Evolution of Electrolytes). He then found employment as an engineer at ESPCI Paris, where he advanced his career, receiving 23 promotions during his time there. Later he became Professor of Chemistry and Electricity at HEC Paris (École des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Paris).