Josef Redtenbacher (March 13, 1810 – March 5, 1870) was an Austrian

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 ...

born in

Kirchdorf an der Krems Kirchdorf an der Krems is a town in the Austrian state of Upper Austria on the river Krems, in the district of Kirchdorf an der Krems. Apparently settled by the year 903, it has 4,104 inhabitants in a relatively small area of 3 km. Population ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...

. He was a brother to entomologist

Ludwig Redtenbacher Ludwig Redtenbacher (June 10, 1814 in Kirchdorf an der Krems, Austrian Empire, Austria – February 8, 1876 in Vienna) was an Austrian doctor and entomologist mainly interested in beetles. He was the brother of the chemist Josef Redtenbacher (chem ...

(1814–1876). He studied medicine and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, and was influenced by the work of

mineralogist 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 proce ...

Friedrich Mohs Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs (; 29 January 1773 – 29 September 1839) was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crystal syst ...

. After graduation, he remained in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

as an assistant to chemist

Joseph Franz von Jacquin Joseph "Krystel" Franz Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Joseph von Jacquin (7 February 1766, in Schemnitz (now Banská Štiavnica) – 26 October 1839, in Vienna) was an Austrian scientist who studied medicine, chemistry, zoology and botany. ...

. He later travelled to Germany, where he studied mineralogy under

Heinrich Rose Heinrich Rose (6 August 1795 – 27 January 1864) was a German mineralogist and analytical chemist. He was the brother of the mineralogist Gustav Rose and a son of Valentin Rose. Rose's early works on phosphorescence were noted in the Quarte ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, ...

with Justus von Liebig at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

.ADB:Redtenbacher, Joseph
@ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Subsequently, he became a professor of chemistry at the University of Prague, and in 1849, returned to Vienna as a successor to

Adolf Martin Pleischl Adolf Martin Pleischl (born 10 October 1787, in Hossenreith, Bohemia; died 31 July 1867, in Dorf an der Enns) was a chemist and medical doctor. In 1815 he obtained his medical doctorate from the University of Prague, where he later served as a ...

. Shortly before his death, he was planning, together with architect

Heinrich von Ferstel Freiherr Heinrich von Ferstel (7 July 1828 14 July 1883) was an Austrian architect and professor, who played a vital role in building late 19th-century Vienna. Life The son of Ignaz Ferstel (17961866), a bank clerk and later director of the ...

, construction of a new university laboratory in Vienna. He is credited with the discoveries of acrolein and

acrylic acid Acrylic acid (IUPAC: propenoic acid) is an organic compound with the formula CH2=CHCOOH. It is the simplest unsaturated carboxylic acid, consisting of a vinyl group connected directly to a carboxylic acid terminus. This colorless liquid has a ...

.Discovery of Acrolein and Acrylic acid
He also performed important research involving the composition of

taurine Taurine (), or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic compound that is widely distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine, and accounts for up to 0.1% of total human body weight. I ...

References

External links

* 1810 births 1870 deaths People from Kirchdorf an der Krems Austrian chemists Academics of the University of Vienna {{Austria-scientist-stub