Justus von Liebig

Justus von Liebig was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. He devised the modern laboratory-oriented teaching method, and is regarded as one of the greatest chemistry teachers of all time. He discovered nitrogen as an essential plant nutrient, and formulated the law of the minimum, which described how plant growth depended on the scarcest nutrient resource. He also developed a manufacturing process for beef extracts, and founded a company that later introduced the Oxo brand beef bouillon cube. He popularized an earlier invention for condensing vapors, which came to be known as the Liebig condenser. He was born in Darmstadt in 1803, and was fascinated with chemistry from childhood. He studied at the University of Bonn and the University of Erlangen, where he obtained his doctorate in 1822. He became a professor at the University of Giessen in 1824, where he established a large and well-equipped laboratory. He conducted research on organic compounds, combustion analysis, fermentation theory, plant nutrition, silvering, and organocatalysis. He also wrote several books and letters on chemistry and its applications to various fields. He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1837, and was made a baron by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1845. He moved to the University of Munich in 1852, where he continued his research until his death in 1873. He was buried in the Alter Südfriedhof in Munich. He had five children with his wife Henriette Moldenhauer, who died in 1865. His son Georg became a chemist and politician, his son Hermann became a painter, his daughter Agnes became a writer and feminist, his daughter Johanna became a philanthropist, and his son Albert became a diplomat.