Carl Oswald Victor Engler (5 January 1842 – 7 February 1925) was a German chemist, academic and politician. He wrote a Handbook of Industrial Chemistry in 1872. He is remembered for his early work in
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
.
Biography
Engler was the son of a pastor, and he studied
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
from 1859 at the
Karlsruhe Polytechnic
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
where he became a scientific assistant in 1863. In 1864 he became a Doctor of Philosophy 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 ...
, and he taught there as a private lecturer from 1867 until 1872. In 1872 Engler became extraordinary professor of chemistry at the
University of Halle
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
where he published his ''Handbuch der technischen Chemie'' ("Handbook of Industrial Chemistry") between 1872 and 1874 (co-author,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
professor
Friedrich Stohmann
Friedrich Karl Adolf Stohmann (25 April 1832 – 1 November 1897) was a German agricultural chemist.
Biography
He was born in Bremen and studied at Göttingen, where he became member of Burschenschaft Hannovera (fraternity), and London. He was T ...
). The two-volume edition was based on
Anselme Payen
Anselme Payen (; 6 January 1795 – 12 May 1871) was a French chemist known for discovering the enzyme diastase, and the carbohydrate cellulose.
Biography
Payen was born in Paris. He began studying science with his father when he was a 13-yea ...
's ''Précis de chimie industrielle''.
In 1876 he became a tenured professor of chemical technology and headmaster of the chemical technical Laboratory at the polytechnic school in Karlsruhe (from 1885 the Technical University Karlsruhe). In 1887 he became a professor of chemistry and director of the
Technical University Karlsruhe.
In 1870 he and
Adolph Emmerling
Adolph Emmerling (13 June 1842, Freiburg im Breisgau – 17 March 1906, Baden-Baden) was a German chemist, known for his research in the field of agricultural chemistry.
He studied chemistry at the University of Freiburg, receiving his doctora ...
, a student of
Adolf von Baeyer
Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (; 31 October 1835 – 20 August 1917) was a German chemist who synthesised indigo and developed a nomenclature for cyclic compounds (that was subsequently extended and adopted as part of the IUPAC org ...
, published a work in which the two first reported the formation of traces of
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
in a material not derived from indigo. Therefore, they have not found indigo “synthesis”, as often reported. Adolf von Baeyer succeeded in this in 1878, who also described in 1883 the correct structural formula.
From 1884 he turned to the
petrochemistry
Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...
. He took a study trip in 1885 to the production area in the Caucasus, travelling later to the Middle East (
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
) and to North America. Engler argued that oil originated in ancient times from animal fat. His later research focused on
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
. To determine the
viscosity
The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water.
Viscosity quantifies the inte ...
, he developed the
Engler viscometer. Together with Hans Höfer he published in 1919 the six-volume work "Das Erdöl – Seine Physik, Chemie, Geologie, Technologie und sein Wirtschaftsbetrieb“ in two editions from 1927.
Besides his researches in petroleum he also studied the properties of ozone and from 1903 he was a member in the Board of
BASF
BASF Societas Europaea, SE () is a German multinational corporation, multinational chemical company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The ...
, where he was involved in the development of the
Haber process
The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today. It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and C ...
.
Politics
Engler was politically active in the
National Liberal Party. As a representative he had a seat in the
Reichstag from 1887 till 1890 and from 1890 till 1904 in the first Chamber of the
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
Assembly.
Honors
*Honorary doctor at the
Humboldt University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
and
Technische Universität Darmstadt
The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...
in 1911
*Honorary doctor at the University of Munich in 1918
The Carl-Engler-Medal of the
Deutsche Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Erdöl, Erdgas und Kohle e.V. is named after him. The Vocational School for Chemistry professionals in Karlsruhe also bears his name. Also the“ Engler-Bunte Institute“ at
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
is named after Engler and
Hans Bunte.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engler, Carl Oswald Victor
1842 births
1925 deaths
People from Emmendingen (district)
People from the Grand Duchy of Baden
German Protestants
National Liberal Party (Germany) politicians
Members of the 7th Reichstag of the German Empire
19th-century German chemists
Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
BASF people
20th-century German chemists