Ludwig Wilhelm Zimmermann

Ludwig Wilhelm Zimmermann (born October 17, 1780 , other date October 7, 1782 in Bickenbach an der Bergstrasse , † July 19, 1825 in Gießen ) was a German chemist , mineralogist and university professor .

Life

Ludwig Wilhelm Zimmermann was the son of pastor Christian Heinrich Zimmermann (* December 17, 1740 in Darmstadt ; † August 28, 1806 there), later superintendent in Darmstadt.

He received his school education together with his brothers from his father. He enrolled at the University of Giessen in 1799, without having attended a public school , in order to comply with his father's wishes and study theology and philology . His own interests, however, were in the natural sciences ; Here he was encouraged by the physics professor Georg Gottlieb Schmidt .

After completing his university studies, he was hired in 1803 as the fourth teacher at the academic pedagogy (today: Landgraf-Ludwigs-Gymnasium ) in Giessen, shortly afterwards he was promoted to Dr. phil. PhD . As a teacher, in addition to teaching ancient languages , he was also given the subject of physics ; this prompted him to now deal with it more intensively on an autodidactic basis than he had previously done in his secondary studies.

In 1808, with government support, he received a grant that gave him the opportunity to travel to Paris . During his six-month stay there, he was instructed in the natural sciences under the direction of Georges Cuvier . After his return he taught again in his previous teaching post, but now devoted himself to his favorite science in the time he could spare. He completed his habilitation in 1811 and published two papers, in 1811 Some Strange Phenomena Accompanying Metal Vegetation, and in 1816 On a New Form of Formation of Several Metallothion and Hydrothion Metal Species . In 1818 he received an extraordinary professorship and after the death of Karl Wilhelm Christian von Müller (1755-1817) he was appointed full professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Giessen in 1819 . Because he had to teach in a poorly equipped laboratory in the botanical garden , which was used by doctors and students of the philosophy faculty, he advocated the provision of a new chemical laboratory. Because of his efforts, the western guardhouse of the barracks on the Gießener Seltersberg was made available to the chemical industry.

In addition to his subjects, he also dealt with the classical poets as well as with history and antiquity; to this end he roamed and explored the area around Giessen. He was also interested in philosophy and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling's philosophy of identity . There were not only the classical languages and some of the newer languages, including French , but also the oriental ones ; especially in Ethiopian he had acquired a sound knowledge.

Ludwig Wilhelm Zimmermann was married and had four children. He drowned under circumstances that were not exactly clarified in the Lahn , documented in the death record of the castle church of the pastor and professor of theology Ludwig Adam Dieffenbach (1772–1843) with the words "found his death" instead of originally "drowned" (this had been crossed out) .

Justus von Liebig became his successor at the university.

Memberships

Member of the Mineralogical Society of Jena .
Member of the Wetterauische Gesellschaft for all natural history .
Member of the Senkenberg Science Society in Frankfurt am Main .
Member of the Natural Research Society in Halle .
Member of the Erfurt Academy of Non-Profit Sciences .
Member of the pharmacists' association in northern Germany .
Member of the Masonic Lodge "Ludewig zur Treue" in Giessen.

Fonts (selection)

Some strange phenomena accompanying the metal vegetation . Giessen 1811.
About a new way of origin of several types of metallothion and hydrothionmetal . Giessen 1816.
Contribution to the closer knowledge of the watery meteors . In: Kastner's archive for all natural history , Volume 1, Issue 5. Nuremberg 1824.

literature

Ludwig Wilhelm Zimmermann . In: New Nekrolog der Deutschen , 3rd year, 1825, 1st issue. Ilmenau 1827.
Ludwig Wilhelm Zimmermann . In: Georg Christoph Hamberger : The learned Teutschland in the nineteenth century , 9th volume. Lemgo 1827.

Individual evidence

^ Hochfürstlich-Hessen-Darmstadt state and address calendar: 1796 . Will, 1796 ( google.de [accessed April 11, 2020]).
↑ Hans Georg Gundel: Liebig as Dean of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Gießen - 1846 and 1851. In: P. 68. Retrieved on April 12, 2020 .
^ Neill Busse: The master and his students: The network of Justus Liebigs and his students. Georg Olms Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-487-42149-0 ( google.de [accessed April 12, 2020]).
^ Liebig's Laboratorium - History - Museum - Liebig Museum in Giessen. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
↑ Georg Schwedt: Liebig and his students: The new school of chemistry . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-55965-5 ( google.de [accessed April 12, 2020]).

personal data
SURNAME	Zimmermann, Ludwig Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German chemist, mineralogist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH	October 17, 1780 or October 7, 1782
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bickenbach an der Bergstrasse
DATE OF DEATH	July 19, 1825
Place of death	to water

[1] Hochfürstlich-Hessen-Darmstadt state and address calendar: 1796 . Will, 1796 ( google.de [accessed April 11, 2020]).

[2] Hans Georg Gundel: Liebig as Dean of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Gießen - 1846 and 1851. In: P. 68. Retrieved on April 12, 2020 .

[3] Neill Busse: The master and his students: The network of Justus Liebigs and his students. Georg Olms Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-487-42149-0 ( google.de [accessed April 12, 2020]).

[4] Liebig's Laboratorium - History - Museum - Liebig Museum in Giessen. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .

[5] Georg Schwedt: Liebig and his students: The new school of chemistry . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-55965-5 ( google.de [accessed April 12, 2020]).