Charles Frédéric Gerhardt (21 August 1816 – 19 August 1856) was a French
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 ...
, born in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and active in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, and his native
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
.
Biography
He was born in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, which is where he attended the gymnasium (an advanced academic secondary school). He then studied at the
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 ...
, where
Friedrich Walchner
Friedrich August Walchner (2 September 1799 – 17 February 1865) was a German geologist, chemist and mineralogist.
Life
Walchner was born in Meersburg. He studied in Göttingen and at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg. In 1817 he joine ...
's lectures first stimulated his interest in chemistry. Next he attended the school of commerce in
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 ...
, where he studied chemistry under
Otto Linné Erdmann
Otto Linné Erdmann (11 April 1804 – 9 October 1869) was a German chemist. He was the son of Karl Gottfried Erdmann, the physician who introduced vaccination into Saxony.
He was born in Dresden on 11 April 1804. In 1820 he began to attend the ...
, who further developed his interest into a passion for questions of speculative chemistry.
Returning home in 1834, he entered his father's
white lead
White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...
factory, but soon found that business was not to his liking, and after a sharp disagreement with his father in his 20th year he enlisted in a cavalry regiment. In a few months military life became equally distasteful, and he purchased his discharge with the assistance of the German chemist
Justus von Liebig
Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at t ...
. After a short period of living in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, he went to the
University of Giessen
University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...
in central Germany in 1836 to study and work in Liebig's laboratory. His stay at Giessen lasted 18 months, and in 1837 he re-entered the factory. Again, however, he quarrelled with his father, and in 1838 he went to Paris with introductions from Liebig.
In Paris, he attended
Jean Baptiste Dumas
Jean Baptiste André Dumas (14 July 180010 April 1884) was a French chemist, best known for his works on organic analysis and synthesis, as well as the determination of atomic weights (relative atomic masses) and molecular weights by measuring v ...
’ lectures and worked with Auguste Cahours (1813–1891) on
essential oils
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...
Michel Eugène Chevreul’s laboratory at the Jardin des Plantes, meanwhile earning a precarious living by teaching and making translations of some of Liebig’s writings. In 1841, through the influence of Dumas, he was charged with the duties of chemistry professor at the
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
faculty of sciences, becoming titular professor in 1844.
In 1842 he annoyed his friends in Paris by the matter and manner of a paper on the classification of organic compounds. Later, he published ''Précis de chimie organique'' (1844–1845). In 1845 he and his opinions were the subject of an attack by Liebig, unjustifiable in its personalities but not altogether surprising in view of his wayward disregard of his patron’s advice. The two were reconciled in 1850, but his faculty for disagreeing with his friends did not make it easier for him to get another appointment after resigning the chair at Montpellier in 1851, especially as he was unwilling to go into the provinces.
He obtained leave of absence from Montpellier in 1848 so that he could pursue without interruption his special investigations, and from that year until 1855 he resided in Paris. During that period he established an ''École de chimie pratique'' ("School for practical chemistry") for which he had great hopes. However, these hopes were disappointed, and in 1855, after refusing the offer of a chair of chemistry at the new
Zürich Polytechnic
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, a ...
in 1854, he accepted the professorships of chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences and the École Polytechnique at Strassburg, where he died the following year, having just completed checking the proofs for the final volume of his ''Traité de chimie organique'' (4 vols., Paris, 1853–56), his
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
. This latter work embodies all his ideas and his discoveries.
Work
Gerhardt is known for his work on reforming the notation for chemical formulas (1843–1846). He also worked on acid anhydrides, and synthesized
acetylsalicylic acid
Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...
, albeit in an unstable and impure form.
Gerhardt is usually linked with his contemporary, Auguste Laurent, with whom he shared a strong and influential interest in theories of chemical combination.
Rare mineral
gerhardtite
Copper(II) nitrate describes any member of the family of inorganic compounds with the formula Cu( NO3)2(H2O)x. The hydrates are blue solids. Anhydrous copper nitrate forms blue-green crystals and sublimes in a vacuum at 150-200 °C. Common hy ...
is named after him.
Death
He died on August 19, 1856, two days short of his 40th birthday, of a sudden fever.
Notes
See also
*
Acetic anhydride
Acetic anhydride, or ethanoic anhydride, is the chemical compound with the formula (CH3CO)2O. Commonly abbreviated Ac2O, it is the simplest isolable anhydride of a carboxylic acid and is widely used as a reagent in organic synthesis. It is a col ...
*
Acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscib ...
*
Acetyl chloride
Acetyl chloride (CH3COCl) is an acyl chloride derived from acetic acid. It belongs to the class of organic compounds called acid halides. It is a colorless, corrosive, volatile liquid. Its formula is commonly abbreviated to AcCl.
Synthesis
On a ...
*
Avogadro's law
Avogadro's law (sometimes referred to as Avogadro's hypothesis or Avogadro's principle) or Avogadro-Ampère's hypothesis is an experimental gas law relating the volume of a gas to the amount of substance of gas present. The law is a specific c ...
*
Borneol
Borneol is a bicyclic organic compound and a terpene derivative. The hydroxyl group in this compound is placed in an '' endo'' position. The exo diastereomer is called isoborneol. Being chiral, borneol exists as enantiomers, both of which are foun ...
*
Equivalent weight
In chemistry, equivalent weight (also known as gram equivalent) is the mass of one equivalent, that is the mass of a given substance which will combine with or displace a fixed quantity of another substance. The equivalent weight of an element is ...
*
Homologous series
In organic chemistry, a homologous series is a sequence of compounds with the same functional group and similar chemical properties in which the members of the series can be branched or unbranched, or differ by molecular formula of and molecu ...
*
Quinoline
Quinoline is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound with the chemical formula C9H7N. It is a colorless hygroscopic liquid with a strong odor. Aged samples, especially if exposed to light, become yellow and later brown. Quinoline is only sli ...
*
Paracetamol
Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol.
At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decreases body temperature; it is inferior ...
*
Phenol
Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it req ...
*
Phorone
Phorone, or diisopropylidene acetone, is a yellow crystalline substance with a geranium odor, with formula or .
Preparation
It was first obtained in 1837 in impure form by the French chemist Auguste Laurent, who called it "camphoryle". In 1849, ...
*
Side chain
In organic chemistry and biochemistry, a side chain is a chemical group that is attached to a core part of the molecule called the "main chain" or backbone. The side chain is a hydrocarbon branching element of a molecule that is attached to a l ...
References
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* - See Chapter 6, "Gerhardt and the Chemical Reformation - Williamson".