Theodor Richter (chemist)

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Hieronymus Theodor Richter, circa 1873
Monument in Freiberg, Wallstrasse
Richter's grave in Freiberg
Special postcard (postal stationery) for the 125th anniversary of the discovery of indium

Hieronymus Theodor Richter (born November 21, 1824 in Dresden , † September 25, 1898 in Freiberg ) was a German chemist and mineralogist.

Life

Richter first completed an apprenticeship as a pharmacist. From 1843 to 1847 he studied at the Bergakademie Freiberg (among others with Carl Friedrich Plattner ) and became a member of the Corps Saxo-Borussia Freiberg . He then worked at Freiberg Hüttenwerke, since 1853 as a metallurgical chemist.

In 1857 he represented his teacher Plattner at the Bergakademie and in 1857 he was appointed chief smelter. In 1863 he became professor for soldering tube testing at the Freiberg Bergakademie; from 1866 to 1873 he also headed the iron and steel laboratory of the Freiberg ironworks. He then devoted himself to lectures on metallurgy and the art of metallurgy . In 1873 he became a professor of metallurgy and metallurgical trial science.

From 1875 to 1896 Theodor Richter worked as rector (magnificence) of the Bergakademie and was the last of the Freiberg rectors to be elected for life for this office. In 1890 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina . Richter died in Freiberg in 1898 and was buried in the Donatsfriedhof .

Services

Richter's most important achievement was the spectral analysis of the black zinc blende, in which he and Ferdinand Reich discovered the chemical element indium in 1863 . The discoverers chose the name indium because of its indigo blue spectral color.

Publications (selection)

  • Preliminary note on a new metal . - In: Journal for practical chemistry. 89, pp. 441-442 (1863).
  • About the indium . - In: Journal for practical chemistry. 90 (1863), pp. 172-176 and 92 (1864) pp. 480-485.
  • Trial art with the soldering tube (1865)

Honors

The new mineral Richterite described by August Breithaupt in 1865 was named after him.

literature

  • C. Schiffner: From the life of old Freiberg mountain students . E. Maukisch, Freiberg 1935 pp. 46-48.
  • 125 years of indium : Lectures at the colloquium on November 24, 1988 on the occasion of the 125th return of the discovery of indium by Freiberg professors F. Reich and Th. Richter. - Freiberg: Bergakademie, 1989
  • Winfried Pötsch u. a. Lexicon of important chemists , Harri Deutsch 1989

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Theodor Richter’s member's entry at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on March 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ Handbook of Mineralogy - Richterite (English, PDF 78 kB)
personal data
SURNAME Richter, Theodor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Richter, Hieronymus Theodor (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist and mineralogist
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden
DATE OF DEATH September 25, 1898
Place of death Freiberg