Adolf Martin Pleischl (10 October 1787 – 31 July 1867) was an Austrian chemist and medical doctor.

Biography

Pleischl was born on 10 October 1787 in Horní Planá. In 1815 he obtained his medical doctorate from the University of Prague, where he later served as a professor of general and

pharmaceutical chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with drug design, designing and developing pharmaceutical medication, drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, ...

(1821–1838). At Prague he is credited with improvement and redevelopment of the chemical-pharmaceutical institute. In 1838 he relocated to the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, where he also redeveloped and modernized its chemical and pharmaceutical facilities. As an instructor, two of his better-known students were Johann Florian Heller (1813–1871) and Johann August Natterer (1821–1900). While at

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

he performed the first scientific analysis of its water (the

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

River, city fountains, drinking water). He also analyzed the

thermal spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by cir ...

s of Bohemian spa sites, and was an enthusiastic recruiter for spa treatment at Karlsbad, Marienbad,

Františkovy Lázně Františkovy Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,600 inhabitants. Together with neighbouring Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně, it forms the West Bohemian Spa Triangle. Th ...

and Franzensbad. His endorsement of Karlsbad water helped lead to a lucrative source of income through the export of bottled water and soda products. Pleischl is credited with the creation of a safe non-metallic enamel for coating metal dishes. Also, he attempted to liquefy

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

by means of pressure and low temperature, a process that was later successfully achieved by his pupil, Johann August Natterer. In his later years, he was awarded with the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...

. He died on 31 July 1867 in Dorf an der Enns. In 1949, the "Pleischlgasse" in

Simmering Simmering is a food preparation technique by which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept just below the boiling point of water (lower than ) and above poaching temperature (higher than ). To create a steady simmer, a liquid is brought to a boil, ...

(11th district of Vienna) was named in his honour. His daughter Mary, was married to physician Johann von Oppolzer (1808–1871).

References

* "Parts of this article are based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

, namely: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pleischl, Adolf Martin 1787 births 1867 deaths Physicians from the Austrian Empire People from Horní Planá Austrian chemists Knights of the Order of Franz Joseph