Andreas Sigismund Marggraf
| Andreas Sigismund Marggraf | |
|---|---|
Engraving of Marggraf, circa 1770
|
|
| Born |
3 March 1709 Berlin, Margraviate of Brandenburg |
| Died | 7 August 1782 (aged 73) Berlin, Margraviate of Brandenburg |
| Nationality | German |
| Notable students | Franz Karl Achard |
| Known for | Isolating zinc |
Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (German: [ˈmaʀkɡʀaːf]; 3 March 1709 – 7 August 1782) was a German chemist from Berlin, then capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and a pioneer of analytical chemistry. He isolated zinc in 1746 by heating calamine and carbon. Though he was not the first to do so, Marggraf is credited with carefully describing the process and establishing its basic theory. In 1747, Marggraf announced his discovery of sugar in beets and devised a method using alcohol to extract it. His student Franz Achard later devised an economical industrial method to extract the sugar in its pure form.
Andreas Sigismund Marggraf was the son of the pharmacist Henning Christian Marggraf (1680–1754), who owned a pharmacy in Berlin and lectured at the Collegium Medico-Chirurgicum (medical/surgical school). Andreas came in contact with the pharmaceutical and medical business early and started studying at the medical school in 1725. He studied with Caspar Neumann in Berlin, Germany but he also visited pharmacies in other cities, including Frankfurt am Main and Strassbourg. He also attended lectures at the University of Halle. Andreas worked in his father's pharmacy and focused his work on chemistry. Later in his life he helped to reorganize the Societät der Wissenschaften into the Akademie der Wissenschaften (Prussian Academy of Science) and became the director of the physics section in 1760. Even after a stroke in 1774, he continued work in the laboratories of the Akademie until his retirement in 1781.
...
Wikipedia