Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (11 July 1709 – 16 November 1785) was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist.

Biography

Wallerius was born at

Stora Mellösa Stora Mellösa () is a locality in Örebro Municipality, Örebro County Örebro County ( sv, Örebro län) is a county or ''län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanla ...

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...

(now Örebro County), Sweden. He was a son of provost Erik Nilsson Wallerius and his spouse Elisabeth Tranæa . He was a younger brother to the physicist, philosopher and theologian Nils Wallerius (1706–1764). Johan Gottschalk entered

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

in 1725, and graduated as magister in 1731 after studies of mathematics, physics and medicine. He continued his studies at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

degree in 1735. After this graduation, he came back to Uppsala where he opened a course in chemistry in his laboratory. This course allowed students in pharmacy and chemistry to witness demonstrations and practice themselves with the experiments. The popularity of this teaching allowed Wallerius to become adjunct of medicine at Uppsala University in 1741 and the first holder of a new professorship of chemistry, medicine and pharmacy in 1750. The same year, Wallerius was elected member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

. He retired from the chemistry chair in 1767 and was succeeded by his student

Torbern Bergman Torbern Olaf (Olof) Bergman (''KVO'') (20 March 17358 July 1784) was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist noted for his 1775 ''Dissertation on Elective Attractions'', containing the largest chemical affinity tables ever published. Bergman was the ...

(1735–1784). Wallerius is regarded as the founder of

agricultural chemistry Agricultural chemistry is the study of chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture—agricultural production, the processing of raw products into foods and beverages, and environmental monitoring and r ...

, mainly based on the significance of his widely disseminated work ''Agriculturae fundamenta chemica'' (1761, published in Swedish the same year as ''Åkerbrukets chemiska grunder'' and later translated into many other languages).Translated into French in 1766: He published several other studies on chemical, mineralogical and geological subjects and used his own farm Hagelstena in

Alsike Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus h ...

(south of Uppsala) as an experimental field. He spent his early retirement from the University due to poor health applying the principles of chemistry as a way to improve agriculture in his own farm, and published some of his findings in ''Rön, rörande landtbruket. Om svenska åkerjordartenas egenskaper och skiljemerken samt deras förbättring genom tienlig jordblanning'', which was awarded the prize of the

References

Other sources

Nordisk familjebok, 2nd ed., vol. 31, col. 498f
* ''Hjalmar F.'
Mutual Favours: The social and scientific practice of eighteenth-century Swedish chemistry
Uppsala: Uppsala universitet, 2003. 225 p. (Skrifter; 30) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallerius, Johan Gottschalk 18th-century Swedish chemists 18th-century Swedish geologists Swedish mineralogists Uppsala University faculty Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1709 births 1785 deaths Uppsala University alumni Lund University alumni People from Örebro County