François Xavier Bon de Saint Hilaire

Who was François Xavier Bon de Saint Hilaire?

François Xavier Bon de Saint Hilaire, president of the Court of Auditors of Montpellier, demonstrated in 1709 that he could make fabric from spider silk. Many cocoons were boiled, washed and dried and the thread was collected with fine combs. Some socks and gloves were produced. He also claimed to have manufactured medicines curing apoplexy, lethargy and coma from spiders. His report, published in 1710, was republished several times and was translated into several languages including Chinese.

The French scientist also made one of the first ventures into the mass-cultivation of spider silk, keeping the creatures in crates of fifty and one-hundred, only to find, upon returning after a considerable duration, that the spiders had thinned themselves out to a mere few remaining members.

He was named to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1750.