Jules Lefèvre

Jules Lefèvre (1863 – May 1944) was a French biochemist and writer. He was for his work in bioenergetics, thermoregulation, and nutrition. His research in bioenergetics, particularly his 1911 publication Chaleur animale et bioénergétique ("Animal Heat and Bioenergetics"), contributed to early understandings of metabolic heat production, body heat exchange, and the physiological mechanisms involved in thermoregulation. He also authored the Traité de Bioénergétique ("Treatise on Bioenergetics") in 1911, one of the first comprehensive works on the emerging field of bioenergetics.

Lefèvre's work extended beyond bioenergetics to include topics related to vegetarianism. In 1904, he published Examen scientifique du végétarisme ("A Scientific Investigation into Vegetarianism"), which explored vegetarianism from a scientific, nutritional, and physiological perspective and introduced the term végétalisme to describe a vegan diet.

Throughout his career, Lefèvre received several awards for his contributions to science, including the Laborde Prix (1894), the Montyon Prix for experimental physiology (1905), Petit-d'Ormoy and Mallanet Prix (1913), and the Grand Prix Albert de Monaco (1939). In 1923, he was awarded one of the three rosettes of the Legion of Honour in recognition of his scientific work.