Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum (12 March 1862 in Kalmar – 1933 in Djursholm) was a Swedish

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and secretary of 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 ...

from 1923 to 1933.Nordisk Familjebok (1926): Söderbaum, Henrik G.
Söderbaum enrolled 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 ...

1879, and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1888 for the thesis ''Studier öfver platooxalylföreningar'' ("Studies of platooxalyl compounds"), and was made

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

in chemistry the same year. He was made a senior lecturer in chemistry and chemical technology at Chalmers Polytechnic Institute in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

in 1893. In 1899, he was made professor of agricultural chemistry at Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture's experimental field in 1899. When the experimental field was reorganised as the Central Establishment for Agricultural Trials in 1907, he was made head of this organisation's chemical department, and remained on this post until 1923. Söderbaum's scientific activities until 1896 were devoted partially to the studies complex

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

compounds, and partially and primarily to the synthesis and investigation of

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

s of various classes. Later, he partially devoted himself to the

history of chemistry The history of chemistry represents a time span from ancient history to the present. By 1000 BC, civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. Examples include the discovery of fire, ex ...

, and especially to the biography of

Jöns Jacob Berzelius Baron Jöns 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 one of the founders of modern chemistry. Berzelius became a memb ...

(from 1901 he edited the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Berzelius publications) and partially to

agricultural chemistry Agricultural chemistry is the chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture. Agricultural chemistry embraces the structures and chemical reactions relevant in the production, protection, and use of Crop, ...

, where his investigations into assimilation of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

and the action of various

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

s were seen as important. His more important works on Berzelius included ''Berzelius’ werden und wachsen 1779-1821'' ("Berzelius' formation and growth 1779-1821", in German) (1899), ''Jacob Berzelius. Själfbiografiska anteckningar'' ("Jacob Berzelius. Biographical notes") (1901), ''Jacob Berzelius. Reseanteckningar'' ("Jacob Berzelius. Travel notes") (1903) och ''Jacob Berzelius. Bref'' ("Jacob Berzelius. Letters") (volumes I-II, 1912, III, 1913, IV, 1915, V, 1918). Söderbaum was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 1898, the Academy's president 1912-1913, member of the

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are six awarding committees from four institutions, one for each Nobel Prize. Five of these committees are working bodies ...

for Chemistry from 1900, member of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg from 1898, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture from 1901, and of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala from 1921. 1918 he was made deputy secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and was the Academy's secretary from 1923 to his death in 1933. From 1925 he was a member of the board of the

Nobel Foundation The Nobel Foundation () is a private institution founded on 29 June 1900 to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes. The foundation is based on the last will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. It also holds Nobel Sym ...

. Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum was father to the Swedish-German actress

Kristina Söderbaum Beata Margareta Kristina Söderbaum (5 September 1912 – 12 February 2001) was a Swedish-born German film actress, producer, and photographer. She performed in Nazi-era films made by a German state-controlled production company. Early life S� ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soderbaum, Henrik Gustaf Swedish chemists Academic staff of the Chalmers University of Technology Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1862 births 1933 deaths Members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala People from Kalmar