Native of Austria and born in Vienna, he is the eldest of a comfortable but large family. He soon starts studying physics and mathematics, and learned English at an early age. At the end of his thesis and works to support the theory of the existence of atoms, he continued his research in Russia, where he directed his work towards chemistry and learned Russian. He met Voltaïr Yegorov in St. Petersburg and the latter helped him in the research he undertook. However, the weather was rather hectic, with revolutionary upsurges, including a failed attack against the emperor. Coltin readily attended these intellectual circles against the actual political current, whose ideas he also nourishes. He was forced to flee with Voltaïr for their ideas, and joined the French coast to embark on America.