Karl Wilhelm Scheele is considered one of the greatest chemists of all time, but he paid a terrible price for this status. People are gradually forgetting about the scientist's contribution to the development of the food, medical and dental industries. What discoveries did Karl Wilhelm make, why did he not receive the recognition he deserved, and what caused his death?
short biography
Karl Wilhelm was born in 1742 in Germany. As a child, he learned about chemicals and pharmaceuticals from his parents. When he was 14, he was sent to Gothenburg to become an apprentice to a family friend who was a pharmacist in that city. Karl spent eight years there, studying chemistry and conducting experiments under cover of night.
In 1767 he moved to Stockholm, where he discovered tartaric acid, one of the two compounds that make up a modern baking powder. After three years in the city, Karl became the laboratory director of the large Locke pharmacy. It was there that a chemist analyzed a strange reaction between molten nitrate and acetic acid. After a while, Karl realized that the product of the compound was oxygen.
The chemist called this element "fiery air" because he believed, based on the theory of his time, that the substance that made up fire was released from objects when they burned. Scheele believed that oxygen is a separate substance and not just an element that facilitates a chemical reaction during combustion.
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Karl Wilhelm did not receive any awards or merit for this discovery, because the English scientist Joseph Priestley was the first to publish the conclusions on oxygen. Although all the facts say one thing: Scheele found the "fiery air" much earlier.
Great contribution to science
Nevertheless, the chemist continued to work not for the sake of recognition of his merits. Over the next few years, he discovered elements such as barium, manganese, molybdenum, tungsten, and chlorine. He also discovered the chemical compounds of citric acid, lactic acid, glycerol, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen sulfide. Many of these compounds have become an integral part of innovation in the food, medical, and dental sciences.
Too high price
Unfortunately, at the time of Karl Wilhelm's work, there were no tools and methods to test connections. Like all chemists, he studied all the elements by tasting them. Scheele often had to sniff them, thereby exposing herself to numerous hazardous materials such as arsenic, mercury, lead and hydrofluoric acid.
The toxic properties of these chemicals had a cumulative effect on the chemist, and he eventually died of kidney failure at the age of only 43.
Despite his many achievements and the fact that he gave his life to chemistry, Karl Wilhelm is often forgotten in the history of science. Although he discovered many elements earlier than other, more famous scientists, many chemists took responsibility for the discoveries that Scheele made. The fact that Karl Wilhelm is forgotten is his own fault, since he did not want to attend meetings of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and publish his works.
Rita Lucky