Friedrich Wohler

Friedrich Wöhler was a German chemist who made significant contributions to both organic and inorganic chemistry. He was the first to isolate several chemical elements in pure metallic form, such as beryllium and yttrium. He also discovered many inorganic compounds, such as silane and silicon nitride. He is best known for his synthesis of urea from ammonium cyanate in 1828, which was the first time an organic compound was produced from inorganic substances. This experiment challenged the prevailing theory that organic compounds could only be formed by living organisms due to a "life force". Wöhler's work paved the way for the development of organic chemistry as a distinct branch of science. Wöhler studied medicine at the University of Marburg and the University of Heidelberg, where he received his doctorate in 1823. He then worked as an assistant to Jöns Jakob Berzelius in Stockholm, Sweden, where he learned analytical chemistry and developed a lifelong friendship with the Swedish chemist. He returned to Germany in 1825 and became a professor of chemistry at the Polytechnic School in Berlin. In 1831, he moved to the Polytechnic School at Kassel, where he met Justus von Liebig, another pioneer of organic chemistry. They collaborated on several research projects and published joint papers on benzoyl compounds and oil of bitter almonds. In 1836, Wöhler was appointed as a professor of chemistry at the University of Göttingen, where he spent the rest of his career. He continued his research on organic and inorganic chemistry, as well as biochemistry and mineralogy. He also mentored many students who became prominent chemists themselves, such as Heinrich Limpricht, Rudolph Fittig, Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, Georg Ludwig Carius, Albert Niemann, Vojtěch Šafařík, Carl Schmidt, Bernhard Tollens, and Theodor Zincke. Wöhler was widely respected and honored for his scientific achievements. He was elected as a member or a correspondent of many academies and societies, such as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the French Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Prussian Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received several awards and medals, such as the Copley Medal from the Royal Society in 1872. He also had several chemical terms and phenomena named after him, such as the Wöhler synthesis, the Wöhler process, the Wöhler curve, and the Wöhlerite mineral. Wöhler died of a heart attack on September 23, 1882, at the age of 82. He was buried at the Albani Cemetery in Göttingen. His grave is marked by a simple stone with his name and dates. He is remembered as one of the founders of modern chemistry and one of the most influential chemists of all time.