The Municipal School of Industrial Chemistry in Mulhouse was created in 1871 and continued the work of the former Chemistry Section of the Graduate School of Applied Sciences which had been forced to close. The Municipal School was financed by the city of Mulhouse and supported by the Industrial Society of Mulhouse. With the increase in staff, at lack of space began to be felt, and a new building was built in 1879 . The new School of Chemistry was launched and in 1880 the chemist Émile Noelting becme its director. He developed courses in chemistry applied to dyes and to the textile industry, a branch in which he had specialized.