Germain Henri Hess

Germain Henri Hess
Germain Henri Hess
Born	7 August 1802 Geneva, Canton of Léman, Helvetic Republic
Died	13 December 1850 (1850-12-14) (aged 48) St. Petersburg, Russia
Nationality	Russian-Swiss
Fields	Chemistry
Institutions	St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences
Alma mater	University of Derpt
Known for	Hess's law, Thermochemistry

Germain Henri Hess (Russian: Герман Иванович Гесс German Ivanovich Gess; 7 August 1802 – 30 November 1850) was a Swiss-Russian chemist and doctor who formulated Hess's law, an early principle of thermochemistry.

Hess was born at July 26 (7 August) in Geneva, Switzerland. His father was an artist and in 1805 moved the family to Russia to work as a tutor to a rich family. His Swiss-born mother, was tutor as well and Hess had the benefit of learning German and French at home. In 1817, his family moved to Derpt, Russian Empire (now Tartu, Estonia), where he went to a private school for two years, and then to Derpt Gymnasium, which he finished in 1822. In autumn of the same year Hess studied medicine at the University of Derpt. During that time, Chemistry department was responsible for Chemistry courses of Medicine and Pharmacy departments and Professor Gottfried W. Osann was giving the lectures which carried in German (an obvious advance for Hess). Under Osann’s supervision, Hess made chemical analyses, but also had an interest in the lectures of Professor of Physics Georges-Frédéric Parrot and Professor of Mineralogy Moritz von Engelhardt. Hess graduated with honors from Derpt University receiving a doctor of medicine degree with his dissertation entitled Something about Curative Waters, Especially Those in Russia. He qualified as a physician in 1825. By application of Professors Osann and Engelhardt, Hess was sent to Sweden, to visit Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius and after a meeting with turned once and for all to chemistry. On his return to Russia, Hess joined an expedition to study the geology of the Urals before was appointed a doctor at Irkutsk which, according to the regulations of that time, owe to practice at a Russian frontier after having graduated. Here went to Irkutsk in August 1826.