Johann Böhm (20 January 1895 – 27 November 1952) was a
German Bohemian
German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part o ...
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 ...
who focused on
photochemistry
Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 nm), visible light (400–7 ...
and
radiography
Radiography is an imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical radiography ("diagnostic" and "therapeut ...
. The
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
-containing mineral ''
boehmite
Boehmite or böhmite is an aluminium oxide hydroxide (γ-AlO(OH)) mineral, a component of the aluminium ore bauxite. It is dimorphous with diaspore. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic dipyramidal system and is typically massive in habit. It is ...
'' (or ''böhmite'') was named after him.
[ Wiley Online Library](_blank)
Biography
Böhm studied at the
German Polytechnic University in Prague and then worked with
Fritz Haber in Berlin where he re-designed and considerably improved the
Weissenberg x-ray
goniometer
A goniometer is an instrument that either measures an angle or allows an object to be rotated to a precise angular position. The term goniometry derives from two Greek words, γωνία (''gōnía'') 'angle' and μέτρον (''métron'') 'me ...
.
[Johannes Böhm, '' Das Weissenbergsche Röntgengoniometer. '' In: ''Zeitschrift für Physik'' 39 (1926) pp. 557–561.Martin J. Buerger (MIT):]
''Karl Weissenberg and the development of X-ray crystallography, '' part 4: ''Further Developments of Weissenberg’s Method.'' (PDF) In 1926
George de Hevesy, then a professor at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...
, invited Böhm to co-operate with him on a series of experiments in
spectrographic analysis
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...
. Afterwards Böhm worked at Freiburg University as an assistant and later as an associate professor.
[ L. Dobiášová: ](_blank)
'Structure of microworld - the world seen by invisible rays. Struktura mikrosvěta – Svět viděný nedviditelnými paprsky.'' Abstract. In: ''Materials Structure'', vol. 7, No. 1 (2000)], p. 29University calendar
of Freiburg University, summer term 1935 From October 1935
he was a professor of physical chemistry at the
Charles University in Prague#Split into Czech and German universities, German University in Prague. After World War II Böhm was allowed to remain in the country and become again a citizen of Czechoslovakia because he had been active in the anti-Nazi movement supporting Czech scientists such as
Jaroslav Heyrovský, but was not permitted to continue his academic career. He worked in an industrial research institute in
Rybitví
Rybitví (german: Rybitew) is a municipality and village in Pardubice District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohem ...
(''Výzkumný ústav organických syntéz'').
[Web of Science v České republice](_blank)
A few days before his death he was appointed Corresponding Member of the
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...
.
He died in Prague on 27 November 1952.
References
External links
Contains short biography of Böhm (in Czech)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohm, Johann
1895 births
1952 deaths
Scientists from České Budějovice
German Bohemian people
Czechoslovak chemists
20th-century German chemists
Czech Technical University in Prague alumni