Justus von Liebig 16024 222053445 2008-06-27T09:53:39Z Numbo3-bot 7118326 robot Adding: [[gd:Justus von Liebig]] {{Infobox_Scientist | name = Justus von Liebig | image = JustusLiebig.jpg|300px | image_width = 300px | caption = Justus von Liebig-chemist | birth_date = {{birth date|1803|5|12|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Darmstadt]], [[Grand Duchy of Hesse]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1873|4|18|1803|5|12}} | death_place = [[Munich]], [[German Empire]] | residence = [[Grand Duchy of Hesse]], then [[German Empire]] | nationality = Hessian, then [[Germany|German]] | field = [[Chemist]] | work_institutions = [[University of Giessen]] <br /> [[University of Munich]] | alma_mater = [[University of Bonn]] <br /> [[University of Erlangen]] | doctoral_advisor = [[Karl Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner]] | doctoral_students = [[Carl Schmidt (chemist)|Carl Schmidt]],<br />[[Nikolay Zinin]],<br />[[Henri Victor Regnault|Victor Regnault]],<br />[[Carl von Voit]],<br />[[Hermann von Fehling]],<br />[[Hermann Franz Moritz Kopp]],<br />[[Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz|August Kekulé]],<br />[[August Wilhelm von Hofmann|August von Hofmann]],<br />[[Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair|Lyon Playfair]],<br />[[Emil Erlenmeyer]],<br />[[Moritz Traube]],<br /> [[Adolph Strecker]],<br />[[Wilhelm Henneberg]] <!--<br />[[Henry Adam Weber]] <br />[[Heinrich Will]], [[Johann Heinrich Buff]] <br />[Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Bart.|Benjamin Collins Brodie]], -->, | known_for = [[Nitrogen]]<br />[[Law of the Minimum]]<br />[[Liebig condenser]] | prizes = <!--Please insert--> | religion = <!--Please insert--> }} <!--PLEASE LEAVE PLACES OF B/D IN THE BIOGRAPHY--> '''Justus von Liebig''' ([[May 12]], [[1803]] &ndash; [[April 18]], [[1873]]) was a [[Germany|German]] [[chemist]] who made major contributions to [[agriculture|agricultural]] and [[biology|biological]] [[chemistry]], and worked on the organization of [[organic chemistry]]. As a [[professor]], he devised the modern [[laboratory]]-oriented teaching method, and for such innovations, he is regarded as one of the greatest chemistry teachers of all time. He is known as the "father of the [[fertilizer]] industry" for his discovery of [[nitrogen]] as an essential [[plant]] [[nutrient]], and his formulation of the [[Law of the Minimum]] which described the effect of individual nutrients on crops. He also developed a manufacturing process for [[beef extract]], and founded a company, [[Liebig Extract of Meat Company]], that later [[trademark]]ed the [[Oxo (food)|Oxo]] brand beef [[bouillon cube]]. ==Biography== Liebig was born in [[Darmstadt]] into a middle class family. From childhood he was fascinated by chemistry and even was expelled from his [[grammar school]] for detonating an [[explosive]] device he had made at home from chemicals obtained from his father's [[drysalter]]y business. [This tale is probably apocryphal--there is no historical evidence that it occurred.] He was apprenticed to the [[apothecary]] Gottfried Pirsch (1792-1870) in [[Heppenheim]]. Liebig attended the [[University of Bonn]], studying under [[Karl Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner]], a business associate of his father. When Kastner moved to the [[University of Erlangen]], Liebig followed him and later took his doctorate from Erlangen. Liebig did not receive the doctorate until well after he had left Erlangen, and the circumstances are clouded by a possible scandal [see Munday (1990)]. Also at Erlangen, Liebig fell in love with the poet [[August Graf von Platen]] (1796-1835)<ref>William H. Brock. Justus von Liebig: The Chemical Gatekeeper. Cambridge University Press, 2002, page 21</ref> who wrote several sonnets dedicated to Liebig. He left Erlangen in March 1822, in part because of his involvement with the radical Korps Rhenania (a nationalist student organization) but also because of his hopes for more advanced chemical studies. In autumn 1822 Liebig went to study in [[Paris]] on a grant obtained for him by Kastner from the [[Hesse|Hessian]] government. He worked in the private [[laboratory]] of [[Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac]], and was also befriended by [[Alexander von Humboldt]] and [[Georges Cuvier]] (1769-1832). After leaving Paris, Liebig returned to Darmstadt and married Henriette Moldenhauer, the daughter of a state official. This ended Liebig's relationship with Platen. In 1824 at the age of 21 and with Humboldt's recommendation, Liebig became a [[professor]] at the [[University of Giessen]]. He established the world's first major school of chemistry there. He received an appointment from the King of Bavaria to the [[University of Munich]] in 1852, where he remained until his death in 1873 in [[Munich]]. He became Freiherr (baron) in 1845. He founded and edited from 1832 the journal ''[[Annalen der Chemie]]'', which became the leading German-language journal of Chemistry. The volumes from his lifetime are often referenced just as ''Liebigs Annalen''; and following his death the title was officially changed to ''Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie''. [[Image:Young-Justus-Liebig.jpg|thumb|left|The young Liebig: 1843 lithograph after an 1821 drawing (Liebigshaus)]] ==Research and development== Liebig improved organic analysis with the ''[[Kaliapparat]]''-- a five-bulb device that used a potassium hydroxide solution to remove the organic combustion product carbon dioxide. He downplayed the role of [[humus]] in plant [[nutrition]] and discovered that plants feed on [[nitrogen]] compounds and [[carbon dioxide]] derived from the air, as well as on [[mineral]]s in the [[soil]]. One of his most recognized and far-reaching accomplishments was the invention of nitrogen-based [[fertilizer]]. Liebig believed that nitrogen must be supplied to plant roots in the form of ammonia. Though a practical and commercial failure, his invention of fertilizer recognized the possibility of substituting chemical fertilizers for ''natural'' (animal dung, etc.) ones. He also formulated the [[Liebig's Law of the Minimum|Law of the Minimum]], stating that a plant's development is limited by the one essential mineral that is in the relatively shortest supply, visualized as "Liebig's barrel". This concept is a qualitative version of the principles used to determine the application of fertilizer in modern agriculture. He was also one of the first chemists to organize a laboratory as we know it today. His novel method of organic analysis made it possible for him to direct the analytical work of many graduate students. The vapor condensation device he popularized for his research is still known as a [[Liebig condenser]], although it was in common use long before Liebig's research began. Liebig's students were from many of the German states as well as Britain and the United States, and they helped create an international reputation for their ''Doktorvater.'' In 1835 he invented a process for [[silvering]] that greatly improved the utility of [[mirror]]s. Liebig's work on applying chemistry to plant and animal physiology was especially influential. At a time when many chemists such as [[Jöns Jakob Berzelius]] insisted on a hard and fast separation between the organic and inorganic, Liebig argued that "...the production of all organic substances no longer belongs just to the organism. It must be viewed as not only probable but as certain that we shall produce them in our laboratories. Sugar, salicin [aspirin], and morphine will be artificially produced." [Liebig and Woehler (1838)] Liebig's arguments against any chemical distinction between living (physiological) and dead chemical processes proved a great inspiration to several of his students and others who were interested in materialism. Though Liebig distanced himself from the direct political implications of materialism, he tacitly supported the work of Karl Vogt (1817-1895), Jacob Moleschott (1822-1893), and Ludwig Buechner (1824-1899). [[Image:Justus-von-Liebig-Deutsche-Bundespost-stamp.jpg|thumb|right|225px|German stamp picturing Justus von Liebig, 1953]] Liebig played a more direct role in reforming politics in the German states through his promotion of science-based agriculture and the publication of [[John Stuart Mill]]'s ''Logic.'' Through Liebig's close friendship with the Vieweg family publishing house, he arranged for his former student Jacob Schiel (1813-1889) to translate Mill's important work for German publication. Liebig liked Mill's ''Logic'' in part because it promoted science as a means to social and political progress, but also because Mill featured several examples of Liebig's research as an ideal for the scientific method. Liebig is also credited with the notion that "[[searing]] meat seals in the juices."<ref>{{cite book | author=McGee, Harold | title=On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition) | publisher=Scribner | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0-684-80001-2}} Page 161, "The Searing Question".</ref> This idea, still widely believed, is not true. Working with [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[engineer]] [[George Giebert]], Liebig devised an efficient method of producing beef extract from carcasses. In 1865, they founded the [[Liebig Extract of Meat Company]], marketing the extract as a cheap, nutritious alternative to real [[meat]]. Some years after Liebig's death, in 1899, the product was trademarked "[[Oxo (food)|Oxo]]". After [[World War II]], the [[University of Giessen]] was officially renamed after him, ''"Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen"''. In 1953 the [[West Germany|West German]] [[Deutsche Bundespost|post office]] issued a stamp in his honor.<ref>Germany #695, ''[[Scott catalogue]]''</ref> == Major works == *[http://books.google.com/books?id=p-IMAAAAYAAJ&dq=Organic+Chemistry+in+its+Application+to+Agriculture+and+Physiology Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology] (1840) *[http://books.google.com/books?id=90AQAAAAYAAJ&dq=Organic+Chemistry+in+its+Application+to+Physiology+and+Pathology Organic Chemistry in its Application to Physiology and Pathology] (1842) *''Familiar Letters on Chemistry'' (1843) == See also == {{Wikisource|The Chemical News/Justus Liebig (obituary)}} * [[History of Soil Science]] * [[List of chemists]] ==Notes== <div class="references-small"><references /></div> ==References== *William H. Brock, [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521524733/ Justus von Liebig: The Chemical Gatekeeper] (Cambridge University Press, 1997). See also [http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mainzv/HIST/awards/Dexter%20Papers/BrockDexterBioJJB.pdf William H. Brock]. *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:14500604 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14500604 |last=Rosenfeld |first=Louis |publication-date=2003 Oct |year=[[2003]] |title=Justus Liebig and animal chemistry. |volume=49 |issue=10 |periodical=Clin. Chem. |pages=1696–707 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:12921103 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12921103 |last=Kirschke |first=Martin |publication-date=2003 Mar |year=[[2003]] |title=Liebig, his university professor Karl Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner (1783-1857) and his problematic relation with romantic natural philosophy. |volume=50 |issue=1 |periodical=Ambix |pages=3–24 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:11640225 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11640225 |last=Buttner |first=J |publication-date=2000 Jul |year=[[2000]] |title=Justus von Liebig and his influence on clinical chemistry. |volume=47 |issue=2 |periodical=Ambix |pages=96–117 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:11621581 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11621581 |last=Thomas |first=U |publication-date=1988 |year=[[1988]] |title=Philipp Lorenz Geiger and Justus Liebig. |volume=35 |issue=2 |periodical=Ambix |pages=77–90 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:11614053 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11614053 |last=Guggenheim |first=K Y |publication-date=1985 |year=[[1985]] |title=Johannes Müller and Justus Liebig on nutrition. |volume=8 |issue=11-12 |periodical=Korot |pages=66–76 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:11610495 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11610495 |last=Sonntag |first=O |publication-date=1977 Nov |year=[[1977]] |title=Religion and science in the thought of Liebig. |volume=24 |issue=3 |periodical=Ambix |pages=159–69 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:11610199 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11610199 |last=Glas |first=E |publication-date=1976 |year=[[1976]] |title=The Liebig-Mulder controversy. On the methodology of physiological chemistry. |volume=63 |issue=1-2-3 |periodical=Janus; revue internationale de l'histoire des sciences, de la médecine, de la pharmacie, et de la technique |pages=27–46 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:11615416 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11615416 |last=Sonntag |first=O |publication-date=1974 Sep |year=[[1974]] |title=Liebig on Francis Bacon and the utility of science. |volume=31 |issue=5 |periodical=Annals of science |pages=373–86 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:4576434 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4576434 |last=Kempler |first=K |publication-date=1973 Jun 3 |year=[[1973]] |title=[Justus Liebig] |volume=114 |issue=22 |periodical=Orvosi hetilap |pages=1312–7 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:13952197 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13952197 |last=Halmai |first=J |publication-date=1963 Aug 11 |year=[[1963]] |title=Justus Liebig |volume=104 |issue= |periodical=Orvosi hetilap |pages=1523–4 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:13187963 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13187963 |last=Berghoff |first=E |publication-date=1954 Jun 11 |year=[[1954]] |title=Justus von Liebig, founder of physiological chemistry. |volume=66 |issue=23 |periodical=Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. |pages=401–2 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:13088290 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13088290 |last=Schmidt |first=F |publication-date=1953 May |year=[[1953]] |title=To Justus von Liebig on his 150th birthday, 12 May 1953 |volume=8 |issue=5 |periodical=Pharmazie |pages=445–6 }} *{{Citation |id = [[PMID]]:13081110 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13081110 |last=Schneider |first=W |publication-date=1953 |year=[[1953]] |title=Justus von Liebig and the Archiv der Pharmazie; in memory of Liebig's birthday, 12 May 1803 |volume=286 |issue=4 |periodical=Archiv der Pharmazie und Berichte der Deutschen Pharmazeutischen Gesellschaft |pages=165–72 }} *{{cite journal | title = Zur Hundertsten Wiederkehr: Justus von Liebig nach dem Leben gezeichnet | author = G. F. Knapp | journal = Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft | volume = 36 | issue = 2 | pages = 1315 &ndash; 1330 | year = 1903 | url = | doi = 10.1002/cber.19030360202 }} *{{cite journal | title = Nekrolog: Justus von Liebig. Eigenhändige biographische Aufzeichnungen | author = Georg Freiherr von Liebig | journal = [[Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft]] | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 817 &ndash; 828 | year = 1890 | url = | doi = 10.1002/cber.18900230391 }} *{{cite journal | title = Zur Erinnerung an Justus von Liebig | author = | journal = [[Journal für Praktische Chemie]] | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | pages = 428 &ndash; 458 | year = 1873 | url = | doi = 10.1002/prac.18740080148 }} ==External links== *[http://librivox.org/familiar-letters-on-chemistry-by-justus-liebig/ Familiar Letters on Chemistry] at librivox.org {{s-start}} {{s-awards}} {{s-bef|before=[[Robert Brown (botanist)|Robert Brown]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Copley Medal]]|years=1840<br/>''jointly with [[Jacques Charles François Sturm]]''}} {{s-aft|after=[[Georg Ohm]]}} {{s-end}} <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Liebig, Justus von |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Chemist]] |DATE OF BIRTH= {{birth date|1803|5|12|df=y}} |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Darmstadt]], [[Germany]] |DATE OF DEATH= {{death date|1873|4|18|df=y}} |PLACE OF DEATH= [[Munich]], [[Germany]] }} {{BD|1803|1873|Liebig, Justus von}} [[Category:People from Darmstadt]] [[Category:People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse]] [[Category:German chemists]] [[Category:German nobility]] [[Category:German inventors]] [[Category:German scientists]] [[Category:University of Bonn alumni]] [[Category:University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni]] [[Category:University of Giessen faculty]] [[Category:University of Munich faculty]] [[Category:Recipients of the Copley Medal]] [[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]] [[bs:Justus von Liebig]] [[bg:Юстус фон Либих]] [[ca:Justus von Liebig]] [[da:Justus von Liebig]] [[de:Justus von Liebig]] [[es:Justus von Liebig]] [[fr:Justus von Liebig]] [[gd:Justus von Liebig]] [[hr:Justus von Liebig]] [[id:Justus Liebig]] [[it:Justus von Liebig]] [[la:Iustus de Liebig]] [[hu:Justus von Liebig]] [[nl:Justus von Liebig]] [[ja:ユストゥス・フォン・リービッヒ]] [[no:Justus von Liebig]] [[pms:Justus von Liebig]] [[pl:Justus von Liebig]] [[pt:Justus von Liebig]] [[ro:Justus von Liebig]] [[qu:Justus von Liebig]] [[ru:Либих, Юстус]] [[sq:Justus von Liebig]] [[sl:Justus von Liebig]] [[sr:Јустус фон Либих]] [[fi:Justus von Liebig]] [[sv:Justus von Liebig]] [[vi:Justus von Liebig]] [[uk:Юстус фон Лібіх]] [[zh:尤斯图斯·冯·李比希]]