Carl Leverkus (5 November 1804 – 4 February 1889) was a German

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

and chemistry entrepreneur. He is the

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

of the city of

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is o ...

Education

Leverkus started training as a pharmacist in 1822, and then studied at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

. Following a stint as an assistant pharmacist in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, he went to Paris, where he worked at a pharmacy and studied chemistry at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in the evenings. In 1829 he took the apothecary examinations in Berlin. He earned his doctorate in 1830 from the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

with a dissertation on the chemistry of silver, which was reviewed by Justus von Liebig.

Life and work

In 1834, Leverkus opened the first German factory for the production of artificial

ultramarine blue Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afg ...

Wermelskirchen Wermelskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Wärmelßkirrshe'') is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m). Coat of arms ...

. Later he moved his factory to the ''Kahlberg'' in Wiesdorf. He called the emerging settlement "Leverkusen" after the family home in

Lennep Remscheid () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south side of the Ruhr area. Remscheid h ...

. The factory was a model plant with the latest technology and facilities, making it a big economic success. Carl Leverkus and his wife were committed to social causes, so they took care of the needs of the factory's workforce, building homes for the workers, establishing a consumer association for them, founding the factory's own volunteer fire department, and starting a

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. In 1884, Leverkus received the honorary title of ''Geheimer Kommerzienrat'' ("Privy Councillor of Commerce") and was made an

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the city of Wermelskirchen. In 1890, Leverkus' sons founded the company ''Vereinigte Ultramarinwerke ehemals Leverkus, Zeltner und Consorten'' ("United Ultramarine Works, formerly Leverkus, Zeltner, and associates"). The largest associate was the

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

ultramarine factory Joh. Zeltner. After Leverkus' death his sons sold a portion of the factory site in Wiesdorf to the

alizarin Alizarin (also known as 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone, Mordant Red 11, C.I. 58000, and Turkey Red) is an organic compound with formula that has been used throughout history as a prominent red dye, principally for dyeing textile fabrics. Historic ...

manufacturer ''Elberfelder Farbenfabriken vorm in 1891. Friedr. Bayer & Co AG'' ("Elberfeld Colors, formerly Friedr. Bayer & Co AG"). Thus, Carl Leverkus' factory was the core of the present-day

Bayer AG Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutica ...

plant in Leverkusen. Leverkus married Juliane Auguste Küpper in 1838 and had eleven children.''Carl Leverkus (1804-1889), Apotheker, Chemiker, Unternehmer'' ("Carl Leverkus (1804-1889): Chemist, pharmacist, entrepreneur")
/ref> He is buried in Wermelskirchen. In 1930, the city of

was posthumously named after him. The German artist

Martin Kippenberger Martin Kippenberger (25 February 1953 – 7 March 1997) was a German artist known for his extremely prolific output in a wide range of styles and media, superfiction as well as his provocative, jocular and hard-drinking public persona. Kippenb ...

was a great-great-grandson of Leverkus.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leverkus, Carl 19th-century German chemists 1804 births 1889 deaths People from Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis