Milda Dorethea Prytz (1891-1977) was a Norwegian chemist.

Early life and education

Prytz was born in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, daughter of priest Anton Jakhelln Prytz and Milda Dorothea Olsen, and sister of goldsmith Eiler Hagerup Krog Prytz Jr. and Fascist politician

Frederik Prytz Anton Frederik Winter Jakhelln Prytz (14 February 1878 – 19 February 1945) was a Norwegian politician. Prytz was born in Oslo. He was minister of finance in the NS government of Vidkun Quisling 1942–1945.Hans Fredrik DahlFrederik Pr ...

. She grew up in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, until she moved with her parents to

Gloppen Gloppen is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. Gloppen is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen in the west, Gloppen in the center, and Breim in the east. Each of the a ...

in 1904. She attended

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School (Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. Loc ...

from 1908 to 1910. She was educated at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and gained her doctorate from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. Her thesis from 1925 is titled '.

Professional life

Prytz was a scientific assistant and

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

at the University of Oslo for many years (1918–1948), and docent in chemistry 1948–1957. She published regularly in scientific journals on the polarographic analysis of

hydroxamic acid A hydroxamic acid is a class of organic compounds bearing the functional group RC(O)N(OH)R', with R and R' as organic residues and CO as a carbonyl group. They are amides (RC(O)NHR') wherein the NH center has an OH substitution. They are often us ...

s and

electrolytic reduction An electrolytic cell is an electrochemical cell that utilizes an external source of electrical energy to force a chemical reaction that would not otherwise occur. The external energy source is a voltage applied between the cell′s two electrod ...

of monovalent and polyvalent

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

s. She also wrote the textbooks ''Quantitative Analysis'' and ''Inorganic Chemistry''.

References

1891 births 1977 deaths Norwegian women scientists Norwegian women chemists Norwegian chemists Norwegian expatriates in Scotland {{Chemist-stub