Angelo Angeli (20 August 1864 – 31 May 1931) was an Italian
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
.
Angeli's salt and the
Angeli–Rimini reaction are named after him.
Scientific career
Angeli studied in Padua, where he met the chemist
Giacomo Luigi Ciamician. When Ciamician moved to a new appointment in Bologna, he chose Angeli to work as his assistant, even before Angeli had graduated. In 1891, Angeli was awarded his doctorate in chemistry at Bologna. In 1893, he became a lecturer in Bologna, and in 1895 he became a professor. In 1894, he worked briefly in Munich with
Adolf von Baeyer
Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (; 31 October 1835 – 20 August 1917) was a German chemist who synthesised indigo dye, indigo and developed a Von Baeyer nomenclature, nomenclature for cyclic compounds (that was subsequently extended a ...
, learning medicinal chemistry. In 1897, he moved to the
University of Palermo
The University of Palermo () is a public university, public research university in Palermo, Italy. It was founded in 1806, and is currently organized in 12 Faculties.
History
The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although it ...
where he became Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
In 1913, Angeli became director of the Pharmacy School in Florence. In 1915, he became Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Florence (Istituto di Studi Superiori), a position that was created specifically for him.
Angeli focused on nitrogen compounds. He investigated the structure of
hydrazoic acid, synthesised nitrohydroxylamine (1894), and discovered the
nitroxyl radical. The Angeli-Rimini reaction (1896) for the detection of
aldehyde
In organic chemistry, an aldehyde () (lat. ''al''cohol ''dehyd''rogenatum, dehydrogenated alcohol) is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure . The functional group itself (without the "R" side chain) can be referred ...
s was named after him and his student Enrico Rimini. He discovered sodium trioxodinitrate, which is known as
Angeli's salt. He confirmed the structure of the
camphor
Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...
which had been by proposed by
Julius Bredt in 1893.
He was a member of the
Accademia dei Lincei
The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...
, the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala (1919) and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (1928) and an honorary member of the German Chemical Society.
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angeli, Angelo
1864 births
1931 deaths
Italian chemists
Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala