Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs (2 December 1836 – 14 February 1923) was a

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 th ...

and natural philosopher most widely known for his findings on periodic laws within the chemical elements.

Life

Hinrichs was born in 1836 in

Lunden Lunden is a municipality in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Eider river, about 16 km north of Heide. It is part of the '' Amt Kirchspielslandgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Eider. ...

in the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his ...

, which at that time was under the rule of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

although it was simultaneously part of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

. He attended the local

polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

school and the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

. During his schooling he published several articles and books, including descriptions of the

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

of earth and its interaction with the aether. Hinrichs graduated in 1860, between the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

s. He emigrated later that year to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, settling initially in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, where he taught school, then in nearby

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

. In 1863 he was appointed a professor of

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

, chemistry, and modern languages at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. He founded the first state weather and crop service in the United States and headed the Iowa Weather Service until 1886. He was first to identify and name the straight-line storm phenomenon he called the "

derecho A ''derecho'' (, from es, derecho, link=no , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system. Derechos can cause hurri ...

." He stayed at the University of Iowa until 1886, when he was fired by the state Board of Regents due to disputes with the university president and faculty colleagues. He became a professor at the St. Louis University in 1889 and taught there until his retirement in 1907.

Periodic law

Hinrichs is one of the discoverers of the periodic laws, which are the basis for the

periodic table of elements The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an Cultural i ...

. Although his contribution is not generally considered as important as those of

Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...

Lothar Meyer Julius Lothar Meyer (19 August 1830 – 11 April 1895) was a German chemist. He was one of the pioneers in developing the earliest versions of the periodic table of the chemical elements. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (his chief rival) and he ...

, he presented his ideas as early as 1855 and published his book ''Programme der Atommechanik'' in 1867. His periodic table had the form of a double spiral, and the elements were placed into the structure according to their atomic mass. Hinrichs also postulated a theory on the cause of the periodicity within the chemical elements based on his theory of the composition of elements out of smaller ''Panatome''. The ''Trigonoides'' were the nonmetals made from regular triangles, while the metallic ''Tetragonoides'' were made from squares. Algebraic formulas of how to mix squares and triangles yielded the periodic laws. His "controversial ideas and colorful personality" proved to be an obstacle to the acceptance of his theories.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinrichs, Gustavus Detlef 19th-century German chemists German emigrants to the United States University of Iowa faculty Saint Louis University faculty 1836 births 1923 deaths University of Copenhagen alumni People involved with the periodic table