Gunnar Hägg (December 14, 1903 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

– May 28, 1986 in

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

) was a Swedish chemist and crystallographer.

Education and career

Hägg studied chemistry at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

from 1922, was a Ramsay Fellow at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1926, studying under Frederick G. Donnan. He obtained his PhD in Stockholm in 1929 under Arne Westgren for the work ''X-ray studies on the binary systems of iron with nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth''. After that he became a lecturer at the

and in 1930 at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

, Germany. In 1937 he became professor of inorganic and general chemistry at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. He retired in 1969. Hägg's research dealt with nitrides, borides, carbides and hydrides of

transition metal In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. The lanthanide and actinid ...

s and determined their crystal structure with X-ray diffraction. He also developed X-ray cameras and calculating machines for this purpose. His investigations into phases and phase transformations in steel had practical applications. In Sweden he is known for his university chemistry textbooks.

Honors and awards

He was a member of the

Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala (), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. Early members included Emanuel Swedenborg an ...

(1940), the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () 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 responsibility for promoting nat ...

(1942), the

Royal Physiographic Society in Lund The Royal Physiographic Society in Lund (), is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. It was founded in Lund, on December 2, 1772, and received a Royal Charter by Gustav III, on March 6, 1778.Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...

, from which he received the Great Gold Medal in 1969. In 1960 he also became a member of the

German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

. A room in

's Ångstrom Laboratory is named after him. In 1968 he received the Oscar Carlson Medal and in 1997 the Gunnar Starck Medal from the

Swedish Chemical Society The Swedish Chemical Society () was established in 1883 and is a nonprofit organisation to promote the development of chemistry in Sweden. The society is based on Wallingatan, Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List ...

. From 1965 to 1976 he was a member of the

Nobel Committee for Chemistry The Nobel Committee for Chemistry is the Nobel Committee responsible for proposing laureates for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

(and chairman in 1976).

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagg, Gunnar 1986 deaths 1903 births Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund Academic staff of Uppsala University 20th-century Swedish chemists Crystallographers Stockholm University alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University Academic staff of the University of Jena Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Inorganic chemists Swedish chemists