Rediscovery of the Elements - UNT Digital Library/67531/metadc... · Rediscovery of the Elements...

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Rediscovery of the Elements Carl Wilhelm Scheele ~OsI oin, , 1 - tockholm Gteborg a Den f -t tralsun rmany Figure 2. Cities in which Scheele lived are underlined; they were all in Sweden, including Stralsund, which was then Swedish Pomerania. t Y Figure 3. "Scheele Haus,"the birthplace (1742) of Scheele, is the center building, located at Fdhrstrafie 23, Stralsund, Germany (N 54' 18.99; E 13 05.56). This building is elegantly marked with a plaque and a small exhibit inside. The view is eastward, downhill toward the Baltic Sea only 200 meters away and from which cold winds often blow up the street. Occasional plaques in the city dating from the 1700s are engraved in Swedish, attesting to the fact that the region was part of Sweden at that time. James L. Marshall, Beta Eta 71, and Virginia R. Marshall, Beta Eta '03 Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton TX 76203-5070, [email protected] The Genius of Scheele. Few chemists can boast as astonishing a career as that of Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786). (Figure 1). Living only for 44 years, this Swedish pharma- cist discovered more elements (seven) than any other scientist (Note 1)-all before the era of modem chemistry of Lavoisier's Traiti.' In the confines of a cramped home laboratory, Scheele also discovered a score of fundamental organic compounds and gases including tartaric acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, malic acid, uric acid, casein, glycerol, hydrogen sulfide, hydro- gen fluoride, and hydrogen cyanide . 2 He developed a procedure for processing phos- phorus from bones, replacing the previous inef- ficient procedure involving urea. 3 He discov- ered the action of light on silver salts, laying the foundation for black-and-white photography;' distinguished plumbago (graphite) and molyb- denite (MoS 2 ); and"above all" 3 discovered oxy- gen. With an amazing memory, he could read a book and thereafter use its contents without referring to it again.' His abilities and research so impressed the scientists of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Sweden that they elected him a member-although at that time (1775) he held merely the station of a pharma- cist's apprentice. He declined an offer in 1777 to succeed Andreas Sigismund Margraff (1709-1782) as director of the Berlin Academy. Instead, shying from politics, he chose unpre- tentious surroundings so that he could work "without jealousy or malice" in his own phar- macy laboratory where his research could be done"without such hindrances." 2 Scheele the Pharmacist and Chemist. During his career Scheele lived in six different cities (Figure 2). He was born in Stralsund, Germany (Figure 3), at that time Swedish Pomerania. His parentage was German, and throughout his life he used this language to write down his labora- tory notes. He received an excellent education and experienced an enjoyable childhood paint- ing and collecting insects and plants. At home he was particularly fascinated with the conver- Figure 1. Statue of Scheele in Scheeleparken in Khping (N 59' 30.79; E 15 59.47), which lies between Scheele's grave and the former site of his pharmacy. This statue was fashioned by Carl Milles, "the most famous Swedish sculptor"who has created many sculptures in prominent sites in Sweden. Inset: Medal struck by the Swedish Academy 3 years after Scheele's death. No authentic portrait of Scheele exists (Note 4). sations of the friends of his parents, who included doctors and pharmacists. At the age of 14 Scheele moved to Goteborg (Figure 4) to replace his brother Johann Martin, who had been a pharmacist apprentice and who had died at the age of twenty. At this time, G6teborg was the center of economic prosper- ity, a showcase city embodying the wealth and power of Sweden. Here Scheele fell in love with the sumptuously provisioned stockroom of the pharmacy, and he is known to have experimented and studied 70 chemicals- every one on the shelves except indigo. From borrowed textbooks of chemistry and pharma- cology he devoted himself to absorbing all possible knowledge on the subjects. He depended particularly on an old but famous textbook Laboratorium Chymicum (1716, posthumous) by Johann Kunckel (1630-1703), who, like Scheele, was a gifted and patient experimentalist. THE HEXAGON 8

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Page 1: Rediscovery of the Elements - UNT Digital Library/67531/metadc... · Rediscovery of the Elements Carl Wilhelm Scheele ~OsI oin, , 1-tockholm Gteborg a Den f-t tralsun rmany Figure

Rediscovery of the ElementsCarl Wilhelm Scheele

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Figure 2. Cities in which Scheele lived areunderlined; they were all in Sweden, includingStralsund, which was then Swedish Pomerania.

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Figure 3. "Scheele Haus,"the birthplace (1742) ofScheele, is the center building, located atFdhrstrafie 23, Stralsund, Germany (N 54' 18.99;E 13 05.56). This building is elegantly markedwith a plaque and a small exhibit inside. The viewis eastward, downhill toward the Baltic Sea only200 meters away and from which cold windsoften blow up the street. Occasional plaques in thecity dating from the 1700s are engraved inSwedish, attesting to the fact that the region waspart of Sweden at that time.

James L. Marshall, Beta Eta 71, andVirginia R. Marshall, Beta Eta '03Department of Chemistry, University ofNorth Texas, Denton TX 76203-5070,[email protected]

The Genius of Scheele. Few chemists canboast as astonishing a career as that of CarlWilhelm Scheele (1742-1786). (Figure 1).

Living only for 44 years, this Swedish pharma-cist discovered more elements (seven) than anyother scientist (Note 1)-all before the era ofmodem chemistry of Lavoisier's Traiti.' In theconfines of a cramped home laboratory, Scheelealso discovered a score of fundamental organiccompounds and gases including tartaric acid,lactic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, malic acid, uricacid, casein, glycerol, hydrogen sulfide, hydro-gen fluoride, and hydrogen cyanide .2 Hedeveloped a procedure for processing phos-phorus from bones, replacing the previous inef-ficient procedure involving urea.3 He discov-ered the action of light on silver salts, laying thefoundation for black-and-white photography;'distinguished plumbago (graphite) and molyb-denite (MoS2); and"above all"3 discovered oxy-gen. With an amazing memory, he could read abook and thereafter use its contents withoutreferring to it again.' His abilities and researchso impressed the scientists of the RoyalAcademy of Sciences of Sweden that theyelected him a member-although at that time(1775) he held merely the station of a pharma-cist's apprentice. He declined an offer in 1777 tosucceed Andreas Sigismund Margraff(1709-1782) as director of the Berlin Academy.Instead, shying from politics, he chose unpre-tentious surroundings so that he could work"without jealousy or malice" in his own phar-macy laboratory where his research could bedone"without such hindrances."2

Scheele the Pharmacist and Chemist. Duringhis career Scheele lived in six different cities(Figure 2). He was born in Stralsund, Germany(Figure 3), at that time Swedish Pomerania. Hisparentage was German, and throughout his lifehe used this language to write down his labora-tory notes. He received an excellent educationand experienced an enjoyable childhood paint-ing and collecting insects and plants. At homehe was particularly fascinated with the conver-

Figure 1. Statue of Scheele in Scheeleparken inKhping (N 59' 30.79; E 15 59.47), which liesbetween Scheele's grave and the former site of hispharmacy. This statue was fashioned by CarlMilles, "the most famous Swedish sculptor"whohas created many sculptures in prominent sites inSweden. Inset: Medal struck by the SwedishAcademy 3 years after Scheele's death. Noauthentic portrait of Scheele exists (Note 4).

sations of the friends of his parents, whoincluded doctors and pharmacists.

At the age of 14 Scheele moved to Goteborg(Figure 4) to replace his brother Johann Martin,who had been a pharmacist apprentice andwho had died at the age of twenty. At this time,G6teborg was the center of economic prosper-ity, a showcase city embodying the wealth andpower of Sweden. Here Scheele fell in lovewith the sumptuously provisioned stockroomof the pharmacy, and he is known to haveexperimented and studied 70 chemicals-every one on the shelves except indigo. Fromborrowed textbooks of chemistry and pharma-cology he devoted himself to absorbing allpossible knowledge on the subjects. Hedepended particularly on an old but famoustextbook Laboratorium Chymicum (1716,posthumous) by Johann Kunckel (1630-1703),who, like Scheele, was a gifted and patientexperimentalist.

THE HEXAGON8

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Figure 5. This is the location in Mahn (GustafAdolf Torget 10/Tullgatan 1) of the phannnacy(Flukta Orn: "Spread Eagle") where Scheeleworked during 1765-1768. Here he first observed"sparks above saltpeter"which eventually led tohis discover of oxygen. The original buildingstructures have been replaced by late nineteenthcentury buildings. The site of the phannacy (at thecorner of the building) is now an elegant boutique(N 55 36.13; E 13 00.02).

Figure 4. Goteborg (Gothenburg) was a prosperous city when Scheele was a pharmacy apprentice here(1757-1765). The upper half is a modern view, facing westward. The older buildings date from the early1800s and have replaced the original wooden structures. The apothecary where Scheele worked(Enh/rningen: "Unicorn"; marked with an arrow) is now a beauty salon (13 Sodra Hamzngatan ("SouthHarbor Street"; N 57 42.35; E 11 57.84). The lower half is fran the time of Scheele, facing eastward. TheUnicorn phannacy is marked with an arrow. Across from the apothecary was situated the auction andwarehouses for the East India Company, now the location of the historical Stadsnnuseet. In both halves theChristine Kyrka (Christine Church) can be identified (upper: right; lower: left).

At 23 years of age, Scheele moved on toMalmo (Figure 5) where he had the advantagesof a good laboratory, and it was here he con-ducted his first serious experiments. He estab-lished a relationship with Anders Jahan Retzius(1742-1821), a demonstrator and later profes-sor at the University of Lund (15 kilometers tothe northeast). Letters from Scheele to Retziusexist" that allow us to gain a glimpse of hisgrowing experience and concepts of chemistry

at this time. In these letters Scheele gives adetailed description of his investigation of salt-peter and nitrous acid. In his classic treatise OnAir and Fire" written a decade later in Uppsala,Scheele describes his observation"how air-bornbits of carbon were ignited from air generatedfrom the boiling saltpeter." What he wasobserving was the spontaneous ignition of

charcoal with generated oxygen, and he firstobserved this in Malmo. We can be fairly certain

that this was the key observation that excitedhis imagination and later led to the formal dis-coverv of this gaseous element.

While living in MalmO, Scheele visited hisparents for the first-and last-time. For theremainder of his life he remained in Sweden,never again travelled to the main continent.'

Three years later, Scheele moved toStockholm where he worked at a pharmacy in

the Old Town (Figure 6), which is popular todaywith tourists visiting the royal castle and itsenvirons. This pharmacy was only a shop andScheele had to conduct his experiments else-where in Stockholm (Figure 7).' It was during

this time (1768-1770) that Scheele conductedmost of the experiments described in On Airanzd Fire.' It is quite possible that Scheele had

some working knowledge of oxygen by this

time: an anecdotal story relates that students atthe Seraphimer hospital once posted a sign on

Figure 6. In "Old Town"(Gaznla Stan) ofStockholm, this structure housed the pharmacy(Fzrgyhllda Korpen: "gilded raven") where Scheeleworked 1768-1770. Today this building (Stortorget26; N 59 19.51; E 18 04.23) boasts a quaint cof-

fee shop, and is one of the many historic touristattractions. The pharmacy was moved in 1924 toits modern site (100 meters to the northwest; 16Vasterlanggatan, N 59 19.54; E 18 04.13; notshown) and possesses an attractive and detailedexhibit on Scheele. The Raven pharmacy wasfounded in 1674 by Jurgen Brandt,father of GeorgBrandt, the discoverer of cobalt. a

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Figure 7. It is possible that Scheele first developed some working knowledge of oxygen here in the oldSeraphimerlassarettet (Seraphimer Hospital)," (2F Serafimergrand; N 59' 19.70; E 18' 03.12) found onKungsholmen island of Stockhohn, across the street from the Stadtshuset (City Hall). The door shown in thephotograph is the original. This building housed the Chemicum Laboratorium of the Royal Mint 300 yearsago. The modern Seraphimer hospital is to the far right.

Figure 9. This Minnemark (memorial) of the"Scheele stone"was on exhibit at the modernUplands Vapen phannacy (Svavagallerian, 50Dragarbrunnsgatan; N59 51.50 E17 38.58) ofUppsala during the period 1990-2000. The mod-en phannacy still possesses a small display onScheele, but this "Scheele stone" is now in theUpplandsmuseet storage at Morgongnva, 40 kilo-meters to the west. This stone plaque, engraved bythe Swedish Royal Academy, was once posted onthe original site (see Figure 8) and translates: "Inthis house lived Carl Wilhelm Scheele 1770-1775.Here he discovered oxygen and other natural clc-men ts."

the cloakroom: "Here Scheele discovered oxy-gen. When he left he took it with him.""'

Scheele had high expectations from his timeat Stockholm, but he was frustrated by the lack

of facilities and opportunities. He moved toUppsala to work in a pharmacy near theUniversity (Figure 8), where he met Johann

Gottlieb Gahn," who introduced him toTorbern Bergman (1735-1784), the well-knownprofessor of chemistry and pharmacology at theUniversity of Uppsala. The association betweenBergman and Scheele was mutual good for-tune-Scheele was introduced to the interna-tional scientific world, while Bergman enjoyedhis"greatest discovery"2 [Scheele] who broughttrue genius to his University. Bergman urgedScheele to work on pyrolusite (MnO2) whichled to the discovery of chlorine (by reactinghydrochloric acid with pyrolusite), a new syn-thesis of oxygen (by reacting sulfuric acid withpyrolusite), and the isolation and characteriza-tion of baryta (barium earth) which was an

impurity in pyrolusite.>' Working with gases,Scheele identified nitrogen and hydrogen fluo-ride, and he wrote On Air and Fire," which

includes his discovery of oxygen.By now Scheele had risen to great fame

throughout Europe, and he was given offers towork in prestigious locations elsewhere inEurope. However, he preferred obscurity and

located a pharmacy in Koping that he couldhave for his own (Figure 10). Here he made hisstudies on organic compounds, and he discov-ered molybdenum and tungsten earths and

prepared pure oxides of each. He discovered"Scheele's green" (copper arsenite) which wassoon adopted as a dye in wallpapers and fabricsthroughout Europe. In the 1700s, all pharma-

Figure 8. Upper half' the modenn Ahhns depart-nient store is located at the site of the pharmacy(Uplands Vapen: "Uplands Arms") where Scheeleworked 1770-1775 (Stora Torget &Kungangsgatan; N 59 51.50; E 17 38.37). Lowerhalf photograph of the pharmacy 100 years ago.Only 200 meters northwest is the Celsius house,where the astronomer Anders Celsius proposed hisnew temperature scale two years before Scheele'sbirth; 300 meters further northwest are the famousLinnaeus gardens. Scheele associated a great deal

with Torbern Bergman of the University, 300meters to the south.

cists smelled and tasted their preparations, andhe found that the gas prepared by distillingpotassium ferrocyanide with sulfuric acid had"apeculiar, not unpleasant smell" and "a tastewhich almost borders slightly on sweet and is

somewhat heating in the mouth"-he had dis-covered hydrogen cyanide. It is no wonder thatScheele died of health complications at such an

early age: he had been exposed for years to anoxious atmosphere of not only hydrogencyanide, but also chlorine, hydrogen sulfide,carbon monoxide, and hydrogen fluoride.

With his incredible memory Scheele com-

mitted virtually.everything to memory-but hewrote little. He performed over 15,000 experi-ments in his lifetime, but only a few scraps oflaboratory notes and correspondence exist; he

generally wrote only when prompted by his

colleagues. He drove himself incessantly, labor-ing every evening in his laboratory after per-forming his daily apothecary chores. SirHumphry Davy (1778-1829) said of him,"Nothing could damp the ardour of his mind orchill the fire of his genius: with very smallmeans he accomplished very great things."'

The Discovery of Oxygen. In the fanciful playOxygen by Roald Hoffmann and Carl Djerassi,'it is suggested that oxygen was the most impor-

tant of all elemental discoveries, because with

THE HEXAGON

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Figure 10. Upper half this was the old pharmacy (Lejonet: "The Lion") where Scheele spent the last 11years of his life. It burned down in 1899, caused by a careless boy playing with matches. Lower half thesite is now occupied by a modern building (Apotekshuset, 2 Stora Torget; N 59 30.85; E 15 59.56), direct-ly across from the Scheeleparken and the churchyard where Scheele is buried.

Figure 11. The Kbpings Museum (OstraLunggatan 37; N 59' 30.50; E 16' 00.01), 700meters to the southwest of the original Scheeleapothecary, has a beautiful display on Scheele andhis apothecary, occupying several spacious rooms.

Although much of the play is imaginary, onedetail is not: the "Lost Letter"" of 1774 writtenby Scheele and sent to Lavoisier, whereinScheele suggests that Lavoisier use theTschirnhausen lenses'; to heat the precipitate oflapis infernalis (lunar caustic, AgNO 3) withalkali of tartar (K2C03)-that is, silver carbon-ate, Ag2CO3. It is clear" that Scheele had previ-ously performed the experiment (albeit withinferior lenses); he realized that heating silvercarbonate will produce both fixed air (carbondioxide) and "vitriolic air" (an earlier namegiven to oxygen by Scheele):

precipitate (Ag2CO3) + heatsilver + fixed air (CO2) + vitriolic air (02) (1)

Much of the play Oxygen is devoted towhether or not Lavoisier took this informationto his advantage (or if he even read the letter),and to what extent Scheele understood thephenomenon in question (Note 2).

Scheele eventually learned to produce oxy-gen by several methods, including heatingmercury carbonate, mercury oxide, magnesiumnitrate, nitric acid, a mixture of pyrolusite(MnO2) and sulfuric acid, and a mixture ofarsenic acid (which he had discovered) andmagnesia nitra (manganese)." In his On Air andFire,' Scheele purports the classic heating of ametal oxide to involve heat as a key ingredientwhich actually is a "compound" of Feuerluft(fire air) and phlogiston (.p):

its study by Lavoisier' came a fundamental rev-olution of chemistry itself, and leading to ourmodern view of the science. Most of the play isdevoted to arguing who the "true" discoverer ofoxygen was. This question is never resolved,because the discovery of an element involves

several criteria, including isolation and descrip-tion; publication of the research; and under-standing that the new substance is indeed anelement." Although Scheele was the first toisolate and describe the element, Priestley pub-lished first. Yet neither of these two scientistsunderstood the true nature of what they had

found. Priestley remained unshaken in his con-viction that oxygen was dephlogisticated air.However, Scheele was more advanced in hischemistry and was beginning to doubt thevalidity of the phlogiston theory; he believedheat was a component of oxygen, which henamed Feuerluft (fire air) in On Air and Fire.' Ittook Lavoisier, with his research culminating inhis Trait6' in 1789, to understand that oxygen(which he named) was an element, finally over-

throwing the theory of phlogiston. But the factremains: Scheele was the first to prepare andcharacterize oxygen.'

calx + (p + fire air) -

(calx + y) + fire air (2)ie: [metal oxide] + heat [metal] + [oxygen]

Even though Scheele recognized that air wasin fact composed of two distinct substances-verdorbene Luft (N2) and Feuerluft (02)(Swedish skamd luft and elds luft,respectively")- the fact that Scheele continued

to use the concept of phlogiston is used by

some as an argument that he was far from

understanding the true nature of what he had

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Figure 12. Oliver Sacks, author of Uncle Tungsten, lays a wreath on the grave of Carl Wilhelm Scheele,October 13, 2003 (N 59 30.79; E 15"59.43).

discovered." However, Boklund observes" thatScheele had long been troubled by the conceptof phlogiston and was using the term only as aconvention (Note 3). Scheele, as all chemists,was well aware that "phlogiston could beadded" (e.g., as charcoal) to a calx to produce ametal-and yet "phlogiston"was not needed atall to explain the "Lost Letter" reaction (1).Furthermore, Scheele showed that he couldregenerate silver repeatedly without any addi-tion of phlogiston:

silver + nitric acid - solutioni.e., Ag + HNO 3 - AgNO 3 (aq) (3)

solution + potassium carbonate (alkali of tartar)precipitate (Ag2CO 3) (4)

precipitate (Ag2CO3) + heat -silver + fixed air (CO2 + vitriolic air (02) (1)

repeat the reactions (3), (4), (1) ....

This mystery had bothered Scheele appar-ently since his days in Malmo." Other examplesthat disturbed Scheele included the heating ofsaltpeter (potassium nitrate), which could pro-duce oxygen by just.heating."

Unfortunately, Scheele was not aware of thekey experiment of Lavoisier: that hydrogen andoxygen react to produce water-Scheele appar-ently interpreted any moisture as being aresidue of his baths and missed this criticalobservation.2 In every reaction where Scheeleproduced oxygen, he saw that heat effectedchange. To him heat was always necessary forproducing oxygen, and he concluded there wassomething substantial about heat itself. Thus,the concept of Feuerluft being a compound fol-lowed naturally.

Scheele was not a theorist but instead apractical chemist. Hence, he was not a phlogis-tonist at heart," his interpretations were not

constricted by old thinking, and he wasbecoming uncomfortable with the classicalAristotelian elements." Originally Scheeleaccepted Cavendish's interpretation that"inflammable gas" (hydrogen) was phlogiston-

Scheele refers to his new method of"preparingphlogiston" in 1769 by reacting iron with waterover a 2-month period at room temperature."Later, however, he refers to the gas not as phlo-giston, but simply as another substance."

Noticing that calx weighs more than metal,Scheele proposed that "fire air" might in factreside in calx. ' It is easy for us to see that withthis observation, if Scheele had merely sub-

tracted 'p from both sides of equation (2), hewould have Lavoisier's view of oxidation. Onewonders, if there were no Lavoisier, and ifScheele had lived beyond 44 years, wouldScheele have come to the same interpretationindependently? Unfortunately, we will neverknow.

The Legacy of Scheele. Skansenparken.

Much of the equipment and supplies ofScheele's K6ping pharmacy has been trans-

ported to Skansen Park in Stockholm and hasbeen arranged in a cottage (Apoteket Kronan,N 59' 19.58; E 18' 06.05) modeled after thepharmacies of Scheele's time. Skansen Park,covering many acres, has been developed topreserve the history of Sweden by moving ontoits premises about 150 Swedish historical hous-

es, complete with interiors, dating from the1700s and 1800s.Visitors to each house are metby persons in period costume. In ApoteketKronan, the "apothecary" in 18th century dressdemonstrates how 18th century prescriptionswere made up for various ailments.

"Scheeles Minne" ("in the memory ofScheele"). The Koping Museum has a generousdisplay of exhibits dedicated to the memory ofScheele. Several rooms are devoted to displaysof laboratory equipment, collections of mineralsand chemicals, pharmaceuticals, maps, anddescriptions of the times and life of Scheele.The dedicated staff are keen in their upkeep ofthe museum and the spirit of Scheele. Last yearOliver Sacks, the author of Uncle Tungsten, visit-ed the museum to view the displays and partic-ipate in some of the ceremonies commemorat-

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Figure 13. The best scholars of Scheele today: Per Enghag (left), author of reference 17, and Rolf Norin(right), Professor at the University of Linkoping. Dr. Norin is holding an original manuscript (reference 8)by A. E. Nordenskibld, biographer of Scheele.

THE HEXAGON

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ing Scheele, including a stage production of themuseum staff and a graveside dedication.Feeling a kinship with Scheele who truly lovedscience in a youthful curiosity, Sacks laid a bou-quet of flowers on the grave of Scheele withsuch reverence and pathos that he "broughttears to the eyes of the spectators." (Figure 12).Future visitors to the museum can share in this

spirit and sign the guest book as did OliverSacks, whose entry echoes his Uncle Tungsten:"Beautiful museum! Lovely to see these memo-

rials of my boyhood hero Scheele."

Acknowledgments.The authors are indebted to Dr. Rolf Norin,

Professor of Chemistry at the University ofLinkping and a scholar of Carl WilhelmScheele, for much valuable guidance and infor-mation.gA delightfuliday was spent atLinkoping with Dr. Normn and Dr. Per Enghag(author of reference 17)hdiscussing the historyand chemistry of Scheele (Figure 13). Theauthors also acknowledge with gratitude thehelp of Ingela Rder and Lars Asplund at theKoping Museum, who furnished much of thebiographical information and who were partic-ularly helpful in locating all sites of Scheele'spharmacies. Ms. Rader and Mr. Asplund serveas the actors of Sara Margaretha Pohl (theowner of the Kping pharmacy, who marriedScheele three days before his death) and CarlW. Scheele during commemorative presenta-tions at the Museum. Finally, the assistance ofOliver Sacks (who furnished Figure 12) andRoald Hoffmann (who clarified key pointsabout the play Oxygen and who made other

suggestions) is acknowledged. 0Notes.

Note 1.This statement embodies only natur-al elements and excludes the Guinness WorldRecord of Albert Ghiorso" who discovered orco-discovered 12 artificial, transuranium ele-ments. Scheele can claim the discovery andrecognition of seven elements: chlorine and

oxygen (in elemental form); manganese, bari-um, molybdenum, and tungsten (as earths);and fluorine (as hydrogen fluoride). HumphryDavy did not discover, but prepared in the ele-mental form, the eight elements Li, B, Na, Mg,K, Ca, Sr, and Ba. The authors concede freely

that recognizing the "true discover" can be acomplex business and that for several ele-ments more than one claim for discovery can bemade-for example, Scheele's chlorineundoubtedly was a mixture including air, andpure chlorine and the true nature thereof wasnot recognized until Davy" u' in 1810; DanielRutherford also discovered nitrogen ("phlogis-

ticated air"), simultaneously with Scheele; foroxygen three claims to the discovery may bemade, each based on a different criterion," etc.,

etc. However, in these "Rediscovery" series theauthors, in order to maintain a free-flowingtravelog, have adopted a full inclusive policy;they address elsewhere the contentious issue ofpriority of discovery."

Note 2. The note written by MadameLavoisier to her husband in Oxygen" (explain-ing she intercepted Scheele's letter but hid itfrom him) is fictional." The 1774 letter from

Scheele to Lavoisier was found by EdouardGrimaux in the archive of Lavoisier a centuryafter it was written;" a draft of the original let-ter is archived in Stockholm." In this letterScheele concludes, "I hope you will see howmuch air is produced during this reduction andwhether a lighted candle can maintain its flame

and animals live in it,"" which essentiallyannounces the discovery of oxygen. The signif-icance of this letter would not have beenmissed by Lavoisier. Boklund argues forcefullythat Lavoisier surely saw Scheele's letter.'""Grimaux, after he published Scheele's letter,paradoxically disavowed the importance of itand maintained his undiluted praise ofLavoisier: "Diminuer la part de gloire deLavoisier, c'est dimimuer la patrimoine de l'hu-

manit&"" ["To diminish Lavoisier's part of theglory is to diminish the legacy of mankind"].

Note 3. Little remains of Scheele's personalwritings. A. E. Nordenskidld, the arctic explorer,

published a work on letters and observations ofScheele' a full century after the chemist's time,but he did not tackle the remaining laboratorynotes of Scheele, collected in the so-called"Brown Book" (Bruna boken). These notes werean almost undecipherable mixture of alchemi-cal notes, Latin, and German. Not until themid-twentieth century were these Bruna bokennotes of Scheele translated and interpreted byUno Boklund (1897-1975)," who has shedmuch light on the evolution of Scheele's chem-ical sophistication.

Note 4. Another statue of Scheele has beensculpted by J. L. H. B6rjeson, situated (N 59'20.41; E18' 04.51) in Humlegarden (large citypark) of Stockholm; this statue portrays a dif-ferent physiognomy. There is no knowndetailed portrait of Scheele (despite earlierstatements to the contrary in the literature")-all have been created from imagination or fromcomparison with relatives. However, threeyears after his death the Swedish Academystruck a medal with his image (see Inset, Figure1); since many people at the academy hadknown him we may suppose that the likenessmay be close.

References.

1. A.-L. Lavoisier, Traiti Eimentaire de Chimie,

1789, Paris.

2. J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry,Vol. 3,1962, Macmillan (London), 205-234.

3. O. Zeckert, Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Apotheker,Chemiker, Entdecker, 1963, WissenschaftlicheVerlagsgesellschaft m. b. H., Stuttgart.

4. S. E. Sheppard, J. Chem. Ed., 1927, 4(3),298-312.

5. O. Zekert, Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Sein Lebenund seine Werke, 1931-1933, BuckdruckereiArthur Nemayer, Mittenwald (Bayern).

6. Partington, op. cit., Vol. 2, 361-377.

7. Ibid, Vol. 3, 200.

8. A. E. Nordenskibld, Carl Wilhelm Scheele.Efterlhmnade bref och anteckningar [Posthumousletters and notes], 1892,aStockholm.

9. C. W. Scheele, Chemische Abhandlung von derLuft und dem Feuer ("Chemical Treatise of Airand Fire"), 1777, Upsala und Leipzig, Verlegtvon Magn. Swederus, Buchhundler.

10. J. Erik Jorpes, Bidrag Till Kungl. SvenskaVetenskapsakademiens historia. VII. Jac. Berzelius.His Life and Work, 1966, English translation byBarbara Steele, Almquit and Wiksell(Stockholm), 18.

11. J. L. Marshall and V. L. Marshall, THEHEXAGON of Alpha Chi Sigma, 2004, 95 (3),46-50.

12. C. Djerassi and R. Hoffmann, Oxygen, 2001,Wiley-VCH (NewYork).

13. P. Walden, J. Chem. Ed., 1952, 29, 304-307.

14. U. Boklund, "A Lost Letter from Scheele toLavoisier," Lychnos,1957-1958, 17,1-24.

15. Marshall, op. cit., 95(4).

16. U. Boklund, Carl Wilhelm Scheele. His Workand Life, Vol. I/II (The Brown Book), 1968, RoosBoktryckeri (Stockholm). Translation of Brunaboken, 1961.

17. P. Enghag, Jordens Grundimnen och derasupptackt [The earth's elements and their discover-ers], 1998, Industrilitteratur, Stockholm. Thisbook has been expanded and translated intoEnglish: Encyclopedia of the Elements, 2004,

Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.

18. M. E. Weeks, Discovery of the Elements, 7thEd., 1968, Journal of Chemical Education, 225.

19. C. Folkard, ed., 2003 Guinness World Records,2003, Gullane Entertainment (London), 273.

20. Partington, op. cit.,Vol. 4, 32-75.

21. J. L. Marshall and V. L. Marshall, Bull. Hist.Chem., 2003, 28(2), 76-83.

22. R. Hoffmann, private communication.

23. 8. Grimaux, Revue Gnirale des Sciences pureset appliques,L. Oliviers, ed., 1890, No. 1 (Jan.15), 1.

24. E. Grimaux, Lavoisier 1743-1794,1888, Paris.

25. J. L. Marshall andV. L. Marshall, THE HEXA-GON of Alpha Chi Sigma, 2003, 94 (1), 3-8.

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