Jöns Jacob Berzelius - wikipedia Jöns Jacob Berzelius `` Berzelius '' redirects here. For other uses, see Berzelius ( disambiguation ). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2010 ) J.J. Berzelius Jöns Jacob Berzelius ( 1779 -- 1848 ) ( 1779 - 08 - 20 ) 20 August 1779 Väversunda, Östergötland, Sweden 7 August 1848 ( 1848 - 08 - 07 ) ( aged 68 ) Stockholm, Sweden Nationality Sweden Alma mater Uppsala University Known for Atomic weights Chemical notation catalysis Silicon Selenium Thorium Cerium Awards Copley medal ( 1836 ) Scientific career Fields Chemistry Institutions Karolinska Institute Doctoral advisor Johann Afzelius Doctoral students James Finlay Weir Johnston Heinrich Rose Baron Jöns Jacob Berzelius ( Swedish : ( jœns ˌjɑːkɔb bæɹˈseːliɵs ) ; 20 August 1779 -- 7 August 1848 ), named by himself and contemporary society as Jacob Berzelius, 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 began his career as a physician but his researches in physical chemistry were of lasting significance in the development of the subject. He is especially noted for his determination of atomic weights ; his experiments led to a more complete depiction of the principles of stoichiometry, or the field of chemical combining proportions. In 1803 Berzelius demonstrated the power of an electrochemical cell to decompose chemicals into pairs of electrically opposite constituents. Berzelius 's work with atomic weights and his theory of electrochemical dualism led to his development of a modern system of chemical formula notation that could portray the composition of any compound both qualitatively ( by showing its electrochemically opposing ingredients ) and quantitatively ( by showing the proportions in which the ingredients were united ). His system abbreviated the Latin names of the elements with one or two letters and applied superscripts to designate the number of atoms of each element present in both the acidic and basic ingredients. Berzelius himself discovered and isolated several new elements, including cerium ( 1803 ) and thorium ( 1828 ). Berzelius 's interest in mineralogy also fostered his analysis and preparation of new compounds of these and other elements. The mineral berzelianite was discovered in 1850 and named after him. He was a strict empiricist and insisted that any new theory be consistent with the sum of chemical knowledge. He developed classical analytical techniques, and investigated isomerism and catalysis, phenomena that owe their names to him. He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1808 and served from 1818 as its principal functionary, the perpetual secretary. He is known in Sweden as `` the Father of Swedish Chemistry ''. Berzelius Day is celebrated on 20 August in honour of him. Contents 1 Biography 2 Achievements 2.1 Law of definite proportions 2.2 Chemical notation 2.3 Discovery of elements 2.4 New chemical terms 2.5 Biology 2.5. 1 Vitalism 3 Relations with other scientists 4 Family 5 Honours 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Biography. Berzelius was born in the parish of Väversunda in Östergötland in Sweden. His father was a school teacher in the nearby city of Linköping and his mother a homemaker. Berzelius lost both his parents at an early age ; his father passed away in 1779, and his mother in 1787. Relatives in Linköping took care of him, and there he attended the school today known as Katedralskolan. He then enrolled at Uppsala University, where he learned the profession of medical doctor from 1796 to 1801 ; Anders Gustaf Ekeberg, the discoverer of tantalum, taught him chemistry. He worked as an apprentice in a pharmacy and with a physician in the Medevi mineral springs. During this time, he conducted analysis of the spring water. For his medical studies, he examined the influence of galvanic current on several diseases and graduated as M.D. in 1802. He worked as physician near Stockholm until the mine - owner Wilhelm Hisinger discovered his analytical abilities and provided him with a laboratory. Between 1808 and 1836, Berzelius worked together with Anna Sundström, who acted as his assistant. In 1807, Berzelius was appointed professor in chemistry and pharmacy at the Karolinska Institute. In 1808, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. At this time, the Academy had been stagnating for several years, since the era of romanticism in Sweden had led to less interest in the sciences. In 1818, Berzelius was elected the Academy 's secretary and held the post until 1848. During Berzelius ' tenure, he is credited with revitalising the Academy and bringing it into a second golden era ( the first being the astronomer Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin 's period as secretary from 1749 to 1783 ). He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1822. In 1827, he became correspondent of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands, and in 1830 associate member. In 1837, he was elected a member of the Swedish Academy, on chair number 5. Achievements Law of definite proportions Daguerreotype of Berzelius. Not long after arriving to Stockholm he wrote a chemistry textbook for his medical students, from which point a long and fruitful career in chemistry began. In 1813, he published an essay on the proportions of elements in compounds. The essay commenced with a general description, introduced his new symbolism, examined all the known elements, included a table of specific weights, and finished with a selection of compounds written in his new formalisation. In 1818, he compiled a table of relative atomic weights, where oxygen was set to 100, and which included all of the elements known at the time. This work provided evidence in favour of the atomic theory proposed by John Dalton : that inorganic chemical compounds are composed of atoms combined in whole number amounts. In discovering that atomic weights are not integer multiples of the weight of hydrogen, Berzelius also disproved Prout 's hypothesis that elements are built up from atoms of hydrogen. Berzelius 's atomic weight tables was first published in a German translation of his Textbook of Chemistry in 1826. Chemical notation In order to aid his experiments, he developed a system of chemical notation in which the elements were given simple written labels -- such as O for oxygen, or Fe for iron -- with proportions noted by numbers. This is the same system used today, the only difference being that instead of the subscript number used today ( e.g., H O ), Berzelius used a superscript ( H O ). Discovery of elements Berzelius is credited with identifying the chemical elements silicon, selenium, thorium, and cerium. Students working in Berzelius 's laboratory also discovered lithium and vanadium. Berzelius discovered silicon by repeating an experiment performed by Gay - Lussac and Thénard. In the experiment, Berzelius reacted silicon tetrafluoride with potassium metal and then purified its product by washing it until it became a brown powder. Berzelius recognized this brown powder as the new element of silicon, which he called silicium, a name proposed earlier by Davy. New chemical terms Berzelius is credited with originating the chemical terms `` catalysis, '' `` polymer, '' `` isomer, '' and `` allotrope, '' although his original definitions differ dramatically from modern usage. As an example, he coined the term `` polymer '' in 1833 to describe organic compounds which shared identical empirical formulas but which differed in overall molecular weight, the larger of the compounds being described as `` polymers '' of the smallest. At this time the concept of chemical structure had not yet been developed so that he considered only the numbers of atoms of each element, and viewed for example glucose ( C H O ) as a polymer of formaldehyde ( CH O ) contrary to modern usage. Berzelius also developed electrochemical dualism. Biology Berzelius was the first person to make the distinction between organic compounds ( those containing carbon ), and inorganic compounds. In particular, he advised Gerardus Johannes Mulder in his elemental analyses of organic compounds such as coffee, tea, and various proteins. The term protein itself was coined by Berzelius, after Mulder observed that all proteins seemed to have the same empirical formula and came to the erroneous conclusion that they might be composed of a single type of very large molecule. Berzelius proposed the name because the material seemed to be the primitive substance of animal nutrition that plants prepare for herbivores. Vitalism Berzelius stated in 1810 that living things work by some mysterious `` vital force '', a hypothesis called vitalism. Related to this, he proposed that compounds could be distinguished by whether they required any organisms in their manufacture ( organic compounds ) or whether they did not ( inorganic compounds ). However, in 1828, Friedrich Wöhler accidentally obtained urea, an organic compound, by heating ammonium cyanate. Contrary to a widespread myth, it was not the end of this vitalist hypothesis, let alone vitalism in general. But in 1845, Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe prepared acetic acid from inorganic precursors, and in the 1850s, Marcellin Berthelot synthesized numerous organic compounds from inorganic precursors, providing abundant counterevidence. The Fischer -- Tropsch process for making hydrocarbons, the Miller -- Urey experiment and other prebiotic - chemistry experiments, and biosynthesis pathways provide even more counterevidence. Relations with other scientists Berzelius was a prolific correspondent with such leading scientists as Gerardus Johannes Mulder, Claude Louis Berthollet, Humphry Davy, Friedrich Wöhler and Eilhard Mitscherlich. After his long denial that chlorine is an element ( as proposed by Humphry Davy in 1810 ), the dispute was ended by the discovery of iodine in 1812. Family Statue of Berzelius in the center of Berzelii Park, Stockholm In 1818 Berzelius was ennobled by King Carl XIV Johan ; in 1835, at the age of 56, he married Elisabeth Poppius, the 24 - year - old daughter of a Swedish cabinet minister, and in the same year was elevated to friherre. Berzeliusskolan, a school situated next to his alma mater, Katedralskolan, is named for him. In 1939 his portrait appeared on a series of postage stamps commemorating the bicentenary of the founding of the Swedish Academy of Sciences. He died on 7 August 1848 at his home in Stockholm, where he had lived since 1806. Honours 1840 : Knight of the Order of Leopold. 1842 : Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts. References Jump up ^ `` Jöns Jacob Berzelius ''. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 3 August 2008. Jump up ^ `` Berzelius Day honoured on YouTube ''. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012. Jump up ^ Berzelius, Jöns Jakob. Jakob Berzelius : Selbstbiographische Aufzeichnungen. Forgotten Books. ISBN 1332586104. Jump up ^ `` Karolinska Institutet 200 År - 1810 - 2010 ''. Jump up ^ Centre for History of Science at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences : KVA och Berzelius Archived 19 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine., accessed 23 May 2009 ( in Swedish ) Jump up ^ `` Book of Members, 1780 -- 2010 : Chapter B '' ( PDF ). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 24 June 2011. Jump up ^ `` Jöns Jacob Berzelius ( 1779 - 1848 ) ''. Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 July 2015. Jump up ^ Berzelius, Jacob ( 1813 ), Thomson, Thomas, ed., `` Essay on the Cause of Chemical Proportions, and on some Circumstances relating to them : together with a short and easy Method of expressing them '', Annals of Philosophy, London : Robert Baldwin, II & III, pp 443 -- 454 & pp 51 -- 62, 93 -- 106, 244 -- 256, 353 -- 364, retrieved 13 December 2014 also Vol III Jump up ^ NationalEncyklopedin. Höganäs, Sweden : Bra Böcker AB. 1990. p. 484. ISBN 91 - 7024 - 619 - X. Jump up ^ `` Jöns Jacob Berzelius Swedish chemist ''. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 22. Jump up ^ Berzelius 1813, Vol III, pp 51 -- 52. Jump up ^ Berzelius, Jons Jacob ( 1825 ). `` On the mode of obtaining silicium, and on the characters and properties of that substance ''. The Philosophical Magazine and Journal. 65 : 254 -- 267 -- via Google Books. Jump up ^ Cornish - Bawden, Athel, ed. ( 1997 ), New Beer in an Old Bottle. Eduard Buchner and the Growth of Biochemical Knowledge, Universitat de València, pp. 72 -- 73, ISBN 9788437033280 Jump up ^ Biographical Dictionary of Scientists ed. T.I. Williams. London : A. & C. Black, 1969 ; pp. 55 -- 56 Jump up ^ `` Berzelius, Johan Jakob, Baron ''. Chamber 's Biographical Dictionary 1897. Jump up ^ Almanach royal officiel de Belgique / 1841 p118 Jump up ^ Orden Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste ( 1975 ). Die Mitglieder des Ordens. 1 1842 - 1881 ( PDF ). Berlin : Gebr. Mann Verlag. p. 6. ISBN 3 - 7861 - 6189 - 5. Further reading Jaime Wisniak ( 2000 ). `` Jöns Jacob Berzelius A Guide to the Perplexed Chemist ''. The Chemical Educator. 5 ( 6 ) : 343 -- 350. doi : 10.1007 / s00897000430a. Paul Walden ( 1947 ). `` Zum 100. Todestag von Jöns Jakob Berzelius am 7. August 1948 ''. Naturwissenschaften. 34 ( 11 ) : 321 -- 327. Bibcode : 1947NW... 34... 321W. doi : 10.1007 / BF00644137. Holmberg, Arne ( 1933 ) Bibliografi över J.J. Berzelius. 2 parts in 5 vol. Stockholm : Kungl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademien, 1933 -- 67. 1. del och suppl. 1 -- 2. Tryckta arbeten av och om Berzelius. 2. del och suppl. Manuskript Jorpes, J. Erik ( 1966 ) Jac. Berzelius -- his life and work ; translated from the Swedish manuscript by Barbara Steele. Stockholm : Almqvist & Wiksell, 1966. ( Reissued by University of California Press, Berkeley, 1970 ISBN 0 - 520 - 01628 - 9 ) Leicester, Henry ( 1970 -- 80 ). `` Berzelius, Jöns Jacob ''. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2. New York : Charles Scribner 's Sons. pp. 90 -- 97. ISBN 978 - 0 - 684 - 10114 - 9. Partington, J.R. ( 1964 ) History of Chemistry ; vol. 4. London : Macmillan ; pp. 142 -- 77 External links Library resources about Jöns Jacob Berzelius Resources in your library Resources in other libraries By Jöns Jacob Berzelius Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article about Jöns Jacob Berzelius. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jöns Jacob Berzelius. List of works by Berzelius ( 301 items as of access date 2011 - 12 - 29 ) Online works at Project Runeberg ( in Latin ) Works by Jöns Jakob Berzelius at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Jöns Jacob Berzelius at Internet Archive Online correspondence between Berzelius and Sir Humphry Davy on Wikisource ( in English ) ( in French ) Online works on Gallica ( in French ) ( in Swedish ) ( 27 items as of access date 2011 - 12 - 29 ) Nordisk familjebok ( 1905 ), band 3, s. 90 -- 96 ( in Swedish ) Poliakoff, Martyn. Jöns Jacob Berzelius. University of Nottingham : The Periodic Table of Videos. Digital edition of `` Lehrbuch der Chemie '' 1823 / 1824 by the University and State Library Düsseldorf Digital edition of `` Das saidschitzer Bitterwasser : chemisch untersucht '' 1840 by the University and State Library Düsseldorf Digital edition of `` Aus Jac. Berzelius ' und Gustav Magnus ' Briefwechsel in den Jahren 1828 - 1847 '' 1900 by the University and State Library Düsseldorf `` Berzelius, Johan Jakob ''. The American Cyclopædia. 1879. Cultural offices Preceded by Carl von Rosenstein Swedish Academy, Seat No. 5 1837 - 48 Succeeded by Johan Erik Rydqvist Copley Medallists ( 1801 -- 1850 ) Astley Cooper ( 1801 ) William Hyde Wollaston ( 1802 ) Richard Chenevix ( 1803 ) Smithson Tennant ( 1804 ) Humphry Davy ( 1805 ) Thomas Andrew Knight ( 1806 ) Everard Home ( 1807 ) William Henry ( 1808 ) Edward Troughton ( 1809 ) Benjamin Collins Brodie ( 1811 ) William Thomas Brande ( 1813 ) James Ivory ( 1814 ) David Brewster ( 1815 ) Henry Kater ( 1817 ) Robert Seppings ( 1818 ) Hans Christian Ørsted ( 1820 ) Edward Sabine / John Herschel ( 1821 ) William Buckland ( 1822 ) John Pond ( 1823 ) John Brinkley ( 1824 ) François Arago / Peter Barlow ( 1825 ) James South ( 1826 ) William Prout / Henry Foster ( 1827 ) George Biddell Airy ( 1831 ) Michael Faraday / Siméon Denis Poisson ( 1832 ) Giovanni Antonio Amedeo Plana ( 1834 ) William Snow Harris ( 1835 ) Jöns Jacob Berzelius / Francis Kiernan ( 1836 ) Antoine César Becquerel / John Frederic Daniell ( 1837 ) Carl Friedrich Gauss / Michael Faraday ( 1838 ) Robert Brown ( 1839 ) Justus von Liebig / Jacques Charles François Sturm ( 1840 ) Georg Ohm ( 1841 ) James MacCullagh ( 1842 ) Jean - Baptiste Dumas ( 1843 ) Carlo Matteucci ( 1844 ) Theodor Schwann ( 1845 ) Urbain Le Verrier ( 1846 ) John Herschel ( 1847 ) John Couch Adams ( 1848 ) Roderick Murchison ( 1849 ) Peter Andreas Hansen ( 1850 ) BNE : XX1511853 BNF : cb12097467c ( data ) GND : 118510185 ISNI : 0000 0001 1058 9531 LCCN : n79065879 MGP : 145114 NDL : 00463211 NKC : ola2002153025 NLA : 35018115 SELIBR : 178154 SNAC : w6911q58 SUDOC : 029324017 VIAF : 41868753 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Jöns_Jacob_Berzelius&oldid = 851765717 '' Categories : 1779 births 1848 deaths People from Vadstena Municipality Swedish chemists Uppsala University alumni Karolinska Institute faculty Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Swedish Academy Recipients of the Pour le Mérite ( civil class ) Discoverers of chemical elements Recipients of the Copley Medal Swedish nobility Foreign Members of the Royal Society Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 19th - century Swedish scientists 19th - century chemists Selenium Thorium Cerium Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Vitalists Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles with Swedish - language external links Use dmy dates from December 2013 Articles needing additional references from January 2010 All articles needing additional references Infobox person using alma mater Articles with hCards Pages using infobox scientist with unknown parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2011 Articles with Latin - language external links Articles with Project Gutenberg links Articles with Internet Archive links Articles with French - language external links Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia with a Wikisource reference Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with MGP identifiers Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Asturianu Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Gàidhlig 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Қазақша Latviešu Magyar Македонски Malagasy മലയാളം Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Polski Português Română Runa Simi Русский Scots Shqip Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 56 more Edit links This page was last edited on 24 July 2018, at 13 : 16 ( UTC ). 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Question: who is the scientist that devised the present chemical symbol
Answer: Berzelius