Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
Growth into a Scientific Discipline:
The Nineteenth Century
R. Klaus Müller
The personalities mentioned in this chapter were born between 1800 and 1870.
They dealt in the early years with the systematization of wet analysis, then
invented and improved volumetric analysis, measured physical parameters and
began to imply instrumental methods for analytical purposes, analysed biological
samples and extended analytical science into neighbouring areas such as medicine,
pharmacy and biology.
Otto Bernhard K
ühn
(born 6 May 1800, Leipzig; died 5 December 1863,
Leipzig)
After attending the famous Fürstenschule (Princes High School) Grimma and
studying Medicine in Leipzig and Göttingen, he was graduated to Dr.med. at the
Universität Leipzig with the thesis
De cholestearine, eique similibus pinguedinis
corpore humani formis
in 1827 and was appointed there to Privatdozent in 1828.
Already in 1829, he became Ordinary Professor of Chemistry at the Medical Faculty
of the Universität Leipzig, where at this time chemistry was exclusively attached.
Kühn (for portrait, see Fig.
3.1
) contributed to analytical and biologi-
cal chemistry mainly by several topics:
Anleitung zu qualitativen chemischen
Untersuchungen
,
Lehrbuch der Stöchiometrie
,
Practische Chemie für Staatsärzte
and
Versuch einer Anthropochemie
[
1
-
4
]. He edited the Journal
Practische Chemie
für Staatsärzte
(Leipzig 1829). He played an active role in general academic mat-
ters (Dean of his faculty 1854-1855, 1857-1858 and 1861-1868) and might have
been a model later for his contemporary colleague Erdmann (see there).
Justus L
iebig
(since 1845 Freiherr von Liebig, born 12 May 1803, Darmstadt;
died 18 April 1873, Munich)
Liebig was born the son of a druggist and dye merchant and became fond of
chemistry in his childhood. During high school and in an apprenticeship in apoth-
ecary, he obtained only little estimation of his tutors, but improved his knowledge
by practising with his father and by reading. He began to study chemistry in 1819
in Bonn, where Professor Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner recognized his talent and hired
him as an assistant. After his appointment at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität
Erlangen, Kastner took the promising student with him. Liebig was graduated to
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