Nils Gabriel Sefström (2 June 1787 – 30 November 1845) was a Swedish chemist and metallurgist. A protégé of Jöns Jakob Berzelius, he rediscovered the element vanadium in 1830 while investigating the brittleness of

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

Early life and education

Sefström was born in the parish of Ilsbo in

Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...

, the son of a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister. After attending the local trivialskola in Hudiksvall and the gymnasium at

Härnösand Härnösand () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 25,012 inhabitants in 2023. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape just ...

, he enrolled briefly 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 ...

. In 1809 he moved to

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 ...

, supporting himself as a private tutor while following Berzelius's public lectures. With his mentor's financial backing he completed a medical degree at the Karolinska Institute and served for a short time as an assistant physician at the Seraphim Hospital, but by 1817 he had turned decisively towards chemistry and metallurgy.

Career and discovery of vanadium

Sefström's first teaching posts were at the Royal Military College and the Royal Caroline Medico-Surgical Institute. In 1822 he became chief teacher of the newly founded School of Mines at Falun, a position he held for sixteen years. Former students later praised his “inexhaustible energy” and strict integrity, qualities that made him widely respected—if occasionally feared. While at Falun he analysed

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

from the Taberg mine in

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

and detected traces of an unknown metal. The quantity was minute and easily confused with chromium, but by late 1830 he had isolated enough oxide to justify a visit to Berzelius's private laboratory in Stockholm. The two worked through the Christmas period and, early in January 1831, obtained a pure sample. Sefström proposed the name vanadium (after ''Vanadís'', a poetical name for the Norse goddess Freyja) in reference to both the element’s Scandinavian provenance and the vivid colours of its salts. Berzelius willingly credited the discovery to his former student. Sefström became a member 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 ...

in 1815 and served as its president in 1840–1841. After resigning from the Falun school in 1838 because of ill-health, he accepted a less demanding appointment in Stockholm as scientific adviser to the Board of Mines, where he supervised the mineral cabinet and laboratory of the Mining College. He suffered a stroke and died in Stockholm on 30 November 1845.

Legacy

The glacier Sefströmbreen and the mountain ridge Sefströmkammen in Spitzbergen are named in his honour. Vanadium had in fact been discovered earlier, in 1801, by the Spanish–Mexican mineralogist Andrés Manuel del Río, who called it erythronium; their identity was confirmed by Friedrich Wöhler in 1831.

Early life and education

Career and discovery of vanadium

Legacy

References

Further reading