Ephraim Reinhold Seehl ( en, Ephraim Rinhold Seehl) (died after 1790)Wills Proved at Prerogative Court of Canterbury 12 September 1783, ''Ephraim Rinhold Seehl''.
/ref> was an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

background, born in Sweden. He was known as a manufacturer of green vitriol.

Life

He was the son of Captain Reinhold Seehl (d. 1721), a German volunteer who worked his way through the ranks in the Swedish army. He settled in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and was

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

as a British subject by Act of Parliament introduced in 1783 (23 Geo c. 8). Seehl occurs in a London subscription list in 1757. He was one of just three people with addresses in Poplar and Blackwall to be found in Thomas Mortimer's ''Universal Director'' of 1763. There his entry reads "Seehl, Ephraim Rinhold, Copperas Merchant, Blackwall; or at the Bank Coffee-house, Threadneedlestreet." At this time he was leasing the Copperas Works in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

from his brother-in-law, the

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

John Perry of

Blackwall Yard Blackwall Yard is a small body of water that used to be a shipyard on the River Thames in Blackwall, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. History East India Company Blackwall was a sh ...

. Seehl traveled widely in Europe. He was a subscriber t
''Mineralogia Cornubiensis''
(1778) by William Pryce. His autograph book shows that he was almost certainly a

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking i ...

. Seehl's will was proved 12 September 1783.

Publications

Seehl worked on the compounds of

sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

. The distinction of its acids, and

sulphur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic acti ...

, was not clarified at this point. The preparation of

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular fo ...

was known by the beginning of the 17th century. With Augustus Sala,

Nicolas Lemery Nicolas Lémery (or Lemery as his name appeared in his international publications) (17 November 1645 – 19 June 1715), French chemist, was born at Rouen. He was one of the first to develop theories on acid-base chemistry. Life After learning ph ...

and J. C. Bernhardt, Seehl is mentioned as one of those working on methods for its production. The method of making it by heating sulphur with

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitra ...

has been attributed to him. Seehl published ''An Easy Method of Procuring the Volatile Acid of Sulphur'' in ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

'' in 1744. It referred to the preparation of

sulphurous acid Sulfurous acid (also sulfuric(IV) acid, sulphurous acid (UK), sulphuric(IV) acid (UK)) is the chemical compound with the formula . There is no evidence that sulfurous acid exists in solution, but the molecule has been detected in the gas phase. ...

. * ''A new improvement in the art of making the true volatile spirit of sulphur'' (1744). Seehl was mentioned for this work in Johann Friedrich Gmelin's ''Geschichte der Chemie''. * ''A short treatise upon the art and mystery of making of copperas'' (1768)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seehl, Ephraim Reinhold Year of birth unknown 18th-century English chemists 1783 deaths Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom German emigrants to England 18th-century German chemists