Haldor Frederik Axel Topsøe (29 April 1842 in

Skælskør Skælskør () is a town in Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Skælskør was the seat of Skælskør Municipality. The town is located 17 km southwest of Slagelse and 12 km southeast of Korsør. Skæls ...

Slagelse Municipality Slagelse Municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in Region Zealand on the west coast of the island of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 571 km². The municipality borders Kalundborg ...

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 ...

– 31 December 1935 in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

, Denmark) was a Danish

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 crystallographer. He is grandfather of the engineer

Haldor Topsøe (1913–2013) Haldor Frederik Axel Topsøe (24 May 1913 – 20 May 2013) was a Danes, Danish engineer and founder and chairman of the catalysis company ''Haldor Topsøe (company), Haldor Topsøe''. He was grandson of the chemist and crystallographer Haldor To ...

who has got his name from his grandfather, and great-grandfather of the mathematician Flemming Topsøe (born 25 August 1938) and the engineer Henrik Topsøe (born 10 August 1944). Topsøe took Magisterkonferens in chemistry in 1866 and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

for a chemical-crystallographical work of

selenium Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, ...

-sour salts. He worked as assistant at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

1863–1867 and at the chemistry laboratory of

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 ...

1867–1873. In 1872, he received a gold medal of

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters {{Infobox organization , name = The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters , full_name = , native_name = Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab , native_name_lang = , logo = Royal ...

, of which he was member from 1877, for a great crystallographical-optical work together with the physicist Christian Christiansen (1843–1917). He worked as chemistry teacher at the

Royal Danish Military Academy The Royal Danish Military Academy ( da, Hærens Officersskole) educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Army. The Military Academy function was initiated in 1713 by request of King Frederick IV on inspiration from the Naval Aca ...

1876–1902 where he founded a new laboratory where he continued his science works. In 1884 he participated in the oceanographic expedition to west Greenland on the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

HDMS ''Fylla''. He was member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

from 1892. Topsøe became commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

in 1880.

References

External links

*http://2dgf.dk/xpdf/bull-1936-9-1-91-93.pdf *http://runeberg.org/salmonsen/2/23/0614.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Topsoe, Haldor 1842 births 1935 deaths Danish chemists Danish mineralogists People from Slagelse Municipality Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog