Carl Wilhelm Scheele ranks as one of the greatest scientists of all time, but he paid a big price for this honor.
Born in 1742 in present-day Germany, Scheele learned about chemicals from his parents starting at a young age. When he was 14, he was sent away to Gothenburg (哥德堡) to become the apprentice (学徒) of a family friend. There he spent eight years studying chemistry and conducting experiments late into the night. Next, Scheele moved around the Holy Roman Empire, working for different chemists and becoming more learned in his trade. In 1767, he moved to Stockholm, where he discovered tartaric acid (酒石酸).
After three years in Stockholm, he became the director of the Locke Laboratory. It was there, while he was analyzing a strange reaction, that Scheele became the first person to identify oxygen.
He called the element "fire air" because he believed, based on the theories of his time, that a substance that made up fire was released from items when they burned. Scheele believed oxygen to be this substance, not understanding that oxygen is merely an element that facilitates (促进) the chemical reaction that is fire.
As historic as this discovery was, Scheele seldom got credit for it, largely because English scientist Joseph Priestley published findings on oxygen before Scheele, even though it is now generally accepted that Scheele made the actual discovery first.
Through his work, he thus exposed himself to many harmful materials. These chemicals had a deadly effect on Scheele, and he eventually died of kidney failure in 1786.
Sadly, in spite of his many achievements and the fact that he gave his life to chemistry, Carl Wilhelm Scheele is often forgotten in the history of science. Though he discovered many elements before other better-known scientists did, his unwillingness to both attend meetings of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and to publish his work allowed other scientists to take credit for discoveries that he had made.
微信扫码预览、分享更方便
