Eilhard Mitscherlich
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Eilhard Mitscherlich (; 7 January 179428 August 1863) was a German
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 is perhaps best remembered today for his discovery of the phenomenon of crystallographic isomorphism in 1819.


Early life and work

Mitscherlich was born at Neuende (now a part of
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
) in the
Lordship of Jever Friesland is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southeast and clockwise) the districts of Wesermarsch, Ammerland, Leer and Wittmund, and by the North Sea. The city of Wilhelmshaven is enclosed by—bu ...
, where his father was pastor. His uncle,
Christoph Wilhelm Mitscherlich Christoph Wilhelm Mitscherlich (20 October 1760, in Weissensee (Thuringia) – 6 January 1854, in Göttingen) was a German classical scholar. He wrote several books on ancient Greek literature. He is best remembered for his edition of the ''Ode ...
(1760–1854), professor at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
, was in his day a celebrated scholar. Eilhard Mitscherlich was educated at Jever by the historian
Friedrich Christoph Schlosser Friedrich Christoph Schlosser (17 November 1776 – 23 September 1861) was a German historian, Professor of History at the University of Heidelberg and a Privy Councillor in Prussia. Early years He was born at Jever Jever () is the capital of ...
, and in 1811 went to the
University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
devoting himself to
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
, with an emphasis on the
Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
. In 1813 he went to
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 ...
to seek permission to join the embassy which
Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
was establishing in
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. The abdication of
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in 1814 put an end to this, and Mitscherlich resolved to study
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
in order that he might enjoy that freedom of travel usually allowed in the East to physicians. He began at Göttingen with the study of
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 ...
, and this so arrested his attention that he gave up his idea of traveling to Persia. From his days in Göttingen dates the treatise on certain parts of Eurasian history, compiled from manuscripts found in the university library and published in Persian and
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
in 1814, under the title ''Mirchondi historia Thaheridarum historicis nostris hucusque incognitorum Persiae principum''. In 1818 Mitscherlich went to
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 ...
and worked in the laboratory of
Heinrich Friedrich Link Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link (2 February 1767 – 1 January 1851) was a German naturalist and botanist. Biography Link was born at Hildesheim as a son of the minister August Heinrich Link (1738–1783), who taught him love of nature throu ...
(1767–1851). There he studied
phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
s,
phosphite The general structure of a phosphite ester showing the lone pairs on the P In organic chemistry, a phosphite ester or organophosphite usually refers to an organophosphorous compound with the formula P(OR)3. They can be considered as esters of a ...
s,
arsenate The arsenate ion is . An arsenate (compound) is any compound that contains this ion. Arsenates are salts or esters of arsenic acid. The arsenic atom in arsenate has a valency of 5 and is also known as pentavalent arsenic or As(V). Arsenate resem ...
s and
arsenite In chemistry, an arsenite is a chemical compound containing an arsenic oxyanion where arsenic has oxidation state +3. Note that in fields that commonly deal with groundwater chemistry, arsenite is used generically to identify soluble AsIII anions. ...
s, and was able to confirm the conclusions of
Jöns Jakob Berzelius Jöns is a Swedish given name and a surname. Notable people with the given name include: * Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779–1848), Swedish chemist * Jöns Budde (1435–1495), Franciscan friar from the Brigittine monastery in NaantaliVallis Gratiae ...
as to their composition. His observation that corresponding phosphates and arsenates
crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
lize in the same form was the germ from which grew his theory of
isomorphism (crystallography) In chemistry isomorphism has meanings both at the level of crystallography and at a molecular level. In crystallography, compounds are isomorphous if their symmetry is the same and their unit cell parameters are similar Molecules are isomorpho ...
, which theory was published in the proceedings of the Berlin Academy of Sciences in December 1819. In that same year Berzelius suggested Mitscherlich to the Prussian education minister Karl vom Stein zum Altenstein as successor to
Martin Heinrich Klaproth Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1 December 1743 – 1 January 1817) was a German chemist. He trained and worked for much of his life as an apothecary, moving in later life to the university. His shop became the second-largest apothecary in Berlin, and ...
at the University of Berlin. Altenstein did not immediately carry out this suggestion, but he obtained for Mitscherlich a government grant to enable him to continue his studies in Berzelius' laboratory at the
Karolinska Institutet The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consiste ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Mitscherlich returned to Berlin in 1821, and in the summer of 1822 he delivered his first lecture as extraordinary professor of chemistry at the university; in 1825 he was appointed ordinary professor. In 1823 Mitscherlich was elected as foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
.


Isomorphism

In the course of investigating the slight differences discovered by
William Hyde Wollaston William Hyde Wollaston (; 6 August 1766 – 22 December 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingo ...
in the angles of the rhombohedra of the
carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...
s isomorphous with calcite, Mitscherlich observed that this angle in the case of
calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
varied with the temperature. On extending this inquiry to other
allotropic Allotropy or allotropism () is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, in the same physical state, known as allotropes of the elements. Allotropes are different structural modifications of an element: the ...
crystals, he observed a similar variation, and was thus led, in 1825, to the discovery that allotropic crystals, when heated, expand unequally in the direction of dissimilar axes. In the following year he discovered the change, produced by change of temperature, in the direction of the optic axes of
selenite Selenite may refer to: Substances containing selenium *A selenium-containing anion or ionic compound with the SeO32− anion: **Selenite (ion), anion is a selenium oxoanion with the chemical formula SeO32− ***Selenous acid, the conjugate acid, w ...
. His investigation, also in 1826, of the two crystalline modifications of
sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
threw much light on the fact that the two
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
s calcite and
aragonite Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including prec ...
have the same composition but different crystalline forms, a property which Mitscherlich called polymorphism.


Later work and last years

In 1833 Mitscherlich made a series of careful determinations of the vapor densities of a large number of volatile substances, confirming the law of
Gay-Lussac Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (, , ; 6 December 1778 – 9 May 1850) was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for his discovery that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen (with Alexander von Humboldt), for two laws ...
. In 1833–34, Mitscherlich investigated the synthesis of
diethyl ether Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula , sometimes abbreviated as (see Pseudoelement symbols). It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable liq ...
from
ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
and sulfuric acid. Through his careful studies, he realized that the acid was not being consumed during the production of the ether, although the reaction would not proceed unless the acid was present. After reviewing Mitscherlich's findings, Swedish chemist
Jöns Jacob Berzelius Baron Jöns Jacob Berzelius (; by himself and his contemporaries named only Jacob Berzelius, 20 August 1779 – 7 August 1848) was a Swedish chemist. Berzelius is considered, along with Robert Boyle, John Dalton, and Antoine Lavoisier, to be on ...
was led to coin the term "
catalysis Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
" for the acceleration or enablement of a chemical reaction by a substance that itself was not consumed in the reaction. He obtained
selenic acid Selenic acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is an oxoacid of selenium, and its structure is more accurately described as . It is a colorless compound. Although it has few uses, its derivative sodium selenate is used in the prod ...
in 1827 and showed that its
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
s are isomorphous with the
sulphate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...
s, while a few years later he proved that the same thing is true of the
manganate In inorganic nomenclature, a manganate is any negatively charged molecular entity with manganese as the central atom.. However, the name is usually used to refer to the tetraoxidomanganate(2−) anion, MnO, also known as manganate(VI) because it c ...
s and the sulfates, and of the
permanganate A permanganate () is a chemical compound containing the manganate(VII) ion, , the conjugate base of permanganic acid. Because the manganese atom is in the +7 oxidation state, the permanganate(VII) ion is a strong oxidizing agent. The ion is a tra ...
s and the
perchlorate A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. Per ...
s. He investigated the relation of
benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...
to
benzoic acid Benzoic acid is a white (or colorless) solid organic compound with the formula , whose structure consists of a benzene ring () with a carboxyl () substituent. It is the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid. The name is derived from gum benzoin, wh ...
and to other derivatives. As related by
Gustav Rose Prof Gustavus ("Gustav") Rose FRSFor HFRSE (18 March 1798 – 15 July 1873) was a German mineralogist who was a native of Berlin. He was President of the German Geological Society from 1863 to 1873. Life He was born in Berlin the son of pharmaco ...
Mitscherlich turned away from inorganic chemistry (crystallography) and devoted his attention to organic chemistry, starting out with an investigation of fuel and oil. Mitscherlich kept working on problems of organic chemistry until 1845. His interest in
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
led him to study the
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
of
volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
regions, and he made frequent visits to the
Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
in an attempt to develop a theory on the cause of volcanism. He did not, however, publish any papers on the subject, though after his death his notes were arranged and published by J. L. A. Roth in the Memoirs of the Berlin Academy (''Ueber die vulkanischen Erscheinungen in der Eifel und über die Metamorphie der Gesteine durch erhöhte Temperatur'', Berlin, 1865). Mitscherlich was an honorary member of almost all the great scientific societies, and received the gold medal from the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
for his discovery of the law of isomorphism. He was one of the few foreign associates of the
French Institute The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...
. In 1855, Mitscherlichwas elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
. In December 1861, symptoms of
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
made their appearance, but Mitscherlich was able to carry on his academic work until December 1862. He died at
Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelh ...
near Berlin in 1863 and was buried in the St Matthäus Kirchhof Cemetery in Schöneberg close to the (eventual) gravesites of
Gustav Kirchhoff Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (; 12 March 1824 – 17 October 1887) was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects. He coine ...
and
Leopold Kronecker Leopold Kronecker (; 7 December 1823 – 29 December 1891) was a German mathematician who worked on number theory, algebra and logic. He criticized Georg Cantor's work on set theory, and was quoted by as having said, "'" ("God made the integers, ...
.


Papers

Mitscherlich published, according to the "Catalogue of Scientific Papers", some 76 papers, which appeared chiefly in the "Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Berlin", in Poggendorff's '' Annalen'', and in the ''
Annales de chimie et de physique __NOTOC__ ''Annales de chimie et de physique'' ( French for ''Annals of Chemistry and Physics'') is a scientific journal founded in Paris, France, in 1789 under the title ''Annales de chimie''. One of the early editors was the French chemist Ant ...
''. In 1829 the first installment of the first volume of Mitscherlich's ''Lehrbuch der Chemie'' appeared. Not until 1840 the second installment of the second part of this monumental text book was printed.Mitscherlich, E.: Lehrbuch der Chemie. Ernst Siegfried Mittler, Berlin. Band 1, Abth.1 (1829) = 194 p.; Band 1, Abth.2 (1832) = 532 p.; Band 2, Abth.1 (1835) = 216 p.; Band 2, Abth.2 (1840) = 500 p. The fourth edition of Mitscherlich's ''Lehrbuch der Chemie'' was published in 1844–1847; a fifth was begun in 1855, but was never completed. A complete edition of his works was published in Berlin in 1896.


Notes


Further reading

* ''Eilhard Mitscherlich: Prince of Prussian Chemistry'' by Hans-Werner Scuhtt, 1997,
Obituary
of Eilhard Mitscherlich in ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', volume XIII, 1864 (pages ix – xvi, near the end of the volume)


See also

*
Ammonium permanganate Ammonium permanganate is the chemical compound NH4MnO4, or NH3· HMnO4. It is a water soluble, violet-brown or dark purple salt. Preparation Ammonium permanganate was first prepared by Eilhard Mitscherlich in 1824 by reaction of silver perman ...
*
Ethyl sulfate Ethyl sulfate (IUPAC name: ethyl hydrogen sulfate), also known as sulfovinic acid, is an organic chemical compound used as an intermediate in the production of ethanol from ethylene. It is the ethyl ester of sulfuric acid. History This substance ...
*
Manganate In inorganic nomenclature, a manganate is any negatively charged molecular entity with manganese as the central atom.. However, the name is usually used to refer to the tetraoxidomanganate(2−) anion, MnO, also known as manganate(VI) because it c ...


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitscherlich, Eilhard 1794 births 1863 deaths People from Wilhelmshaven Foreign Members of the Royal Society 19th-century German chemists Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Heidelberg University alumni University of Göttingen alumni Stockholm University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Humboldt University of Berlin faculty Royal Medal winners Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)