Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
– 22 October 1833,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
) was a German
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
and
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 wielded great influence on the improvement of science education for pharmacists. He also made numerous contributions in the fields of industrial and agricultural chemistry.
Biography
He studied medicine and pharmacy at the University of Erfurt, and following graduation, worked as an assistant in the pharmacy of
Johann Christian Wiegleb
Johann Christian Wiegleb (December 21, 1732 – January 16, 1800) was a notable German apothecary and early innovator of chemistry as a science.
Life
Wiegleb, the son of a lawyer, was schooled in Langensalza.Wolfgang-Hagen Heim, Holm-Dietmar Schw ...
in
Langensalza
Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany.
Geography Location
Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fertile lowlands along t ...
. In 1786 he undertook a study trip to the
Harz Mountains
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
,
Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hall ...
,
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 ...
and Freiberg, and in the process, made the acquaintance of several eminent scientists. In 1787 he moved to Berlin, where he conducted private lectures on chemistry,
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, technology and pharmacy. In 1781 he was appointed professor of chemistry and pharmacy at the ''Collegium Medico-chirurgicum'' in Berlin.ADB: Hermbstaedt, Friedrich Sigismund at
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language.
It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...
In 1808 he became a full member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, and three years later was appointed professor of technological chemistry at the
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 ...
. In 1820 he became a professor of chemistry at the ''Allgemeinen Kriegsschule'' in Berlin.
In 1828 the botanical genus '' Hermbstaedtia'' (family
Amaranthaceae
Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it ...
) was named in his honor.
Written works
In 1804 he began edition of the ''Archiv der Agrikulturchemie für denkende Landwirthe'' (Archives of Agricultural Chemistry). He was also the author of numerous treatises on various subjects associated with agriculture and industry, such as: producing sugar from
beets
The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...
; the manufacture of soft and
hard soap
Hard soap or curd soap is a kind of soap. Examples are Nablus soap, Aleppo soap, Castile soap, and Marseille soap or ''savon de Marseille''. During the preparation of the soap, common salt ( sodium chloride) is added to the liquid soap mass. Th ...
; the chemical principles of
beer brewing
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...
; the cultivation of
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and the preparation and processing of
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
and
hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
. The following is a list of a few of his larger published works:
* ''Physikalisch-chemische Versuche und Beobachtungen'', 1786 – Physical-chemical experiments and observations.
* ''System der antiphlogistischen Chemie'', 1803, (translated from the French: ''Traité élémentaire de chimie'' by
phlogistin chemistry.
* ''Systematischer Grundriß der allgemeinen Experimentalchemie'' 1800-1805. – Systematic principles of general experimental chemistry.
* ''Grundsätze der experimentellen Kammeral-Chemie für Kammeralisten, Agronomen, Forstbediente und Technologen'', 1808 – Principles of experimental cameral chemistry : for cameralists, agronomists, forestry workers and technologists.
* ''Grundriss der technologie, oder, Anleitung zur rationellen kenntniss und beurtheilung derjenigen kunste, fabriken, manufakturen und handwerke, welche mit der kameral- und policeywissenschaft, so wie der landwirthschaft in nachster verbindung stehen'', 1814 – Principles of technology, etc.WorldCat Search published works