Friedrich Albrecht Carl Gren (1 May 1760 – 26 November 1798) 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 t ...

and a native of

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeburg ...

. He began his career working in a pharmacy in Bernburg, and later worked as a pharmacist in Offenbach am Main and

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 ...

. In 1782 he began his studies at the

University of Helmstedt The University of Helmstedt (german: Universität Helmstedt; official Latin name: ''Academia Julia'', "Julius University"), was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810. History Found ...

, and in 1788 became professor of chemistry and

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 ...

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 in ...

. In 1783 he became the assistant to Wenceslaus Johann Gustav Karsten at the University of Halle. In 1790 Friedrich Gren was founder of the ''Journal der Physik'' (in 1795-97 called ''Neues Journal der Physik''), which in 1799 was renamed ''

Annalen der Physik ''Annalen der Physik'' (English: ''Annals of Physics'') is one of the oldest scientific journals on physics; it has been published since 1799. The journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers on experimental, theoretical, applied, and mathe ...

'' by

Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert (12 August 1769 – 7 March 1824) was a German physicist and chemist, and professor of physics at the University of Leipzig. From 1799-1824 he published the "''Annalen der Physik''", of which Poggendorffs "'' Annalen d ...

(1769-1824). Today it is the oldest and one of the best-known journals on

. He was also the author of a popular textbook on chemistry titled ''Systematisches Handbuch der gesamten Chemie''. Gren was a major proponent in regards to the existence of phlogiston. After Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) demonstrated that

combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combus ...

required

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

, he compromised his beliefs, and postulated that oxygen and phlogiston worked alongside each other.

Selected writings

* ''Betrachtungen über die Gärung'', (Reflections on fermentation), 1784 * ''Systematisches Handbuch der gesamten Chemie'', (Systematic textbook on all chemistry), 1787-1794, last edition- 1819 (1787-1790
Digital edition
/ (1806-1807
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Grundriss der Naturlehre'', 1787, sixth edition- 182
Digital 5th edition from 1808
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf

Footnotes

References

* ''This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.'' * 1760 births 1798 deaths People from Bernburg 18th-century German chemists University of Helmstedt alumni University of Halle faculty {{Germany-chemist-stub