Franz Joseph König (15 November 1843 – 12 April 1930) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 ...

noted among other things as the founder of German

food chemistry Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples. It is similar to biochemist ...

. He developed many analytical techniques and created the foundations for the modern quality control of foodstuffs.

Life

König was born in Lavesum,

Haltern Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx. nor ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

. He studied at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and was a member of the

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

Verdensia (1866) and Hercynia (1922).Kösener Corpslisten 1996, 72, 205 He was awarded a

D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

In 1871 he became director of the newly established agricultural research station in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

. In 1892 he was elected honorary professor at the Münster Royal Academy (''Königliche Akademie zu Münster'') and in 1899 was appointed to a chair at the present Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität. In 1887 he was elected a member of the

Leopoldina Leopoldina may refer to: * Colônia Leopoldina, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Alagoa * Leopoldina, Minas Gerais, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais * Maria Leopoldina of Austria (1797-1826), consort of emperor Pedro I ...

. He was appointed a '' Geheimer Regierungsrat''. König died on 12 April 1930 in Münster.

Commemorations

* In 1934 the Joseph König Memorial Medal ( Joseph-König-Gedenkmünze) of the Food Chemistry Society (''Lebensmittelchemische Gesellschaft''), a specialist group within the

Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker The German Chemical Society (German: ', GDCh) is a learned society and professional association founded in 1949 to represent the interests of German chemists in local, national and international contexts. GDCh "brings together people working in che ...

, was endowed. * The Agricultural Investigation and Research Institute of North Rhine-Westphalia (''Landwirtschaftliche Untersuchungs- und Forschungsanstalt Nordrhein-Westfalen'') was renamed on the occasion of its 110th birthday as the "Joseph-König-Institut". * The secondary school of

was named the

Joseph-König-Gymnasium Joseph-König-Gymnasium is the only Gymnasium (Germany), gymnasium in the Westphalian city of Haltern am See. With 1,360 students, it is one of the larger high schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. The school is named after the German chemist Joseph ...

in his honour in 2003.

Works

* ''Chemie der menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genußmittel'' 1878 * ''Chemische Zusammensetzung der menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel'' (= ''Chemie der menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel.'' Bd. 1). Springer, Berlin 1879. 4th improved edition edited by A. Bömer. Springer, Berlin 1903 * ''Die menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel, ihre Herstellung, Zusammensetzung und Beschaffenheit, nebst einem Abriss über die Ernährunglehre'' (= ''Chemie der menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel.'' Bd. 2). Springer, Berlin 1880. 4th improved edition. Springer, Berlin 1904

References

Sources

* * Johann Grossfeld: ''Joseph König (Münster i. W.): Sein Leben u. s. Arbeit; Zur Erinnerg an s. 85. Geburtstag am 15. Nov. 1928'', edited together with his sons Friedrich König and Maximilian König, Berlin: P. Parey 1928 (Reihe Die landwirtschaftliche Versuchs-Stationen ; Bd. 108, Erg. Bd.)

External links

*
Joseph-König-Gedenkmünze der GdCh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konig, Joseph 20th-century German chemists 1843 births 1930 deaths People from Haltern Academic staff of the University of Münster Food chemists 19th-century agronomists 19th-century German chemists