Justus von Liebig
Freiherr Justus von Liebig (May 12, 1803 in Darmstadt, Germany – April 18, 1873 in Munich, Germany) was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and 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 that later trademarked the Oxo brand beef bouillon cube.
Biography
Liebig was expelled from his grammar school for detonating an explosive device he had made at home from chemicals obtained from his father's business. He was apprenticed to an apothecary in Heppenheim.
Liebig attended the University of Bonn, studying under Karl Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner. When Kastner moved to the University of Erlangen, Liebig followed him and received his doctorate there in 1822. He then obtained a grant from the Hessian government to study in Paris. Through the influence of Alexander von Humboldt, he was able to work in the private laboratory of Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac.
In 1824 at the age of 21, Liebig became a professor at the University of Giessen. He also taught at the University of Munich from 1852 to 1873. He became Freiherr (baron) in 1845.
Research and development
Liebig improved organic analysis. 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 minerals in the soil. One of his most recognized and far-reaching accomplishments was the invention of nitrogen-based fertilizer. He also formulated the 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. 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.
In 1835 he invented a process for silvering that greatly improved the utility of mirrors.
Liebig is also credited with the notion that "searing meat seals in the juices."[1] This idea, still widely believed, is not true.
Working with 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".
The [[University oASSSSSSS.
Major works
- Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology (1840)
- Organic Chemistry in its Application to Physiology and Pathology (1842)
See also
Notes
- ^ McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition). Scribner. ISBN 0-684-80001-2. Page 161, "The Searing Question".