Franz Cölestin Schneider (28 September 1812, in Krems – 29 November 1897) was an Austrian

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

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 ...

. He was the father of archaeologist

Robert von Schneider Robert von Schneider (17 November 1854, Vienna – 24 October 1909, Vienna) was an Austrian classical archaeologist. He was the son of chemist Franz Schneider (chemist), Franz Schneider. He studied archaeology at the University of Vienna as a ...

(1854–1909). He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich h ...

, obtaining his

medical doctorate Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1842, and his doctorate in surgery during the following year. For the next few years, he served as a general practitioner in the town of

Herzogenburg Herzogenburg is a town in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Population References Cities and towns in St. Pölten-Land District {{LowerAustria-geo-stub ...

, followed by work as an assistant to chemist Adolf Martin Pleischl (1787–1867) in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 1850 he received his doctorate in special

inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemis ...

and

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clay ...

at Vienna. Two years later he was named professor of surgical sciences at the Josephinum in Vienna, where he taught classes in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

, chemistry and natural history. In 1870 he succeeded

Josef Redtenbacher Josef Redtenbacher (March 13, 1810 – March 5, 1870) was an Austrian chemist born in Kirchdorf an der Krems, Upper Austria. He was a brother to entomologist Ludwig Redtenbacher (1814–1876). He studied medicine and botany at the Unive ...

(1810-1870) in the department of general and

medical chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with designing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and developme ...

at the University of Vienna. During the following year, he suffered eye damage due to an accident in the

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physici ...

. In February 1876, he was named with the rank of undersecretary to the Ministry of the Interior. Schneider is credited for introducing

forensic toxicology Forensic toxicology is the use of toxicology and disciplines such as analytical chemistry, pharmacology and clinical chemistry to aid medical or legal investigation of death, poisoning, and drug use. The primary concern for forensic toxicology ...

in Austria. He developed new methods for detecting

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, bu ...

and mercury in the human body.

Selected writings

* ''Die gerichtliche Chemie, für Gerichtsaerzte und Juristen bearb.'', 1852. -

Forensic chemistry Forensic chemistry is the application of chemistry and its subfield, forensic toxicology, in a legal setting. A forensic chemist can assist in the identification of unknown materials found at a crime scene. Specialists in this field have a wi ...

, for doctors and lawyers. * ''Anfangsgründe der Chemie'', 1853 - First principles of chemistry. * ''Commentar zur neuen österreichischen Pharmacopöe'', 1855 - Commentary on the new Austrian

pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (from the obsolete typography ''pharmacopœia'', meaning "drug-making"), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by ...

.WorldCat Search
(publications)

References

NDB/ADB Deutsche Biographie {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Franz 1812 births 1897 deaths Academic staff of the University of Vienna Austrian chemists Forensic scientists People from Krems an der Donau Commanders of the Order of Franz Joseph