Johann Friedrich Meyer (chemist)
Johann Friedrich Meyer (born October 24, 1705 in Osnabrück ; † November 2, 1765 there ) was a German chemist.
Life
Meyer was the son of a doctor and a pharmacist's daughter and at the age of 15 began his apprenticeship as a pharmacist in his grandmother's pharmacy, where he studied for six years. After wandering in Leipzig, Nordhausen, Frankfurt am Main, Trier and Halle, where he also studied mining and metallurgy in Nordhausen, he took over the family pharmacy in Osnabrück in 1737. In 1738 he married the daughter of a pastor who died in 1759. The marriage remained childless.
Meyer attracted a lot of attention in his time by explaining the caustic effect of alkalis through the inclusion of a hypothetical substance, which he called acidum pingue (Latin for fatty acid) and which he made responsible for the increase in the mass of metals during calcination (oxidation) . In his opinion, the acidum pingue arose from a previously unknown acidic substance and a fire substance (similar to the sulfur in Paracelsus and Nicolas Lémery ) and was present in fire, acids and bases.
The correct explanation of the increase in mass during oxidation had been given a few years earlier by Joseph Black (absorption of a substance from the air).
Fonts
- Chemical experiments: for a closer knowledge of unquenched lime, elastic and electrical matter, the purest fire essence, and the original universal acid; along with an appendix about the elements. JW Schmidt, Hanover 1764 digitized MDZ Munich digitized university library Düsseldorf 2nd edition 1770 digitized MDZ Munich
- Alchemical letters. Together with JGR Andreae. Schlueter, Hanover 1767 digitized MDZ Munich
Both works have also been translated into French.
- Essais de chymie, sur la chaux vive, la matiere elastique et electrique, le feu, et l'acide universel primitif; avec un supplément sur les eléments: traduits de l'allemand de M. Frederich Meyer, apothicaire à Osnabruck. Par MPF Dreux, ancien apothicaire aide-major des armées du Roi en Allemagne. G. Cavelier, Paris 1766 2 volumes digitized
literature
- Stuart Pierson, Dictionary of Scientific Biography
- Winfried R. Pötsch (lead), Annelore Fischer, Wolfgang Müller: Lexicon of important chemists . Harri Deutsch 1989, ISBN 3-8171-1055-3 , p. 299.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Meyer, Johann Friedrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German chemist and pharmacist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 24, 1705 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Osnabrück |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 2, 1765 |
| Place of death | Osnabrück |