Georg Lockemann (17 October 1871, in

Hollenstedt Hollenstedt is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km southwest of Hamburg, and 12 km south of Buxtehude. Hollenstedt is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collect ...

– 4 December 1959, in Hollenstedt) was a German

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 ...

Biography

He studied chemistry at the Technical University of Hannover and at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1896 with a dissertation-thesis on

azobenzene Azobenzene is a photoswitchable chemical compound composed of two phenyl rings linked by a azo compound, N=N double bond. It is the simplest example of an aryl azo compound. The term 'azobenzene' or simply 'azo' is often used to refer to a wide c ...

derivatives. In 1901 he became a teaching assistant to

Ernst Otto Beckmann Ernst Otto Beckmann (July 4, 1853 – July 12, 1923) was a German pharmacist and chemist who is remembered for his invention of the Beckmann differential thermometer and for his discovery of the Beckmann rearrangement. Scientific work Ernst Ot ...

at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, where in 1904 he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

with a thesis on studies of

acrolein Acrolein (systematic name: propenal) is the simplest unsaturated aldehyde. It is a colorless liquid with a foul and acrid aroma. The smell of burnt fat (as when cooking oil is heated to its smoke point) is caused by glycerol in the burning fat ...

and

phenylhydrazine Phenylhydrazine is the chemical compound with the formula . It is often abbreviated as . It is also found in edible mushrooms. Properties Phenylhydrazine forms monoclinic prisms that melt to an oil around room temperature which may turn yellow ...

. In 1907 he was named head of the chemistry department at the

Robert Koch Institute The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode. As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federa ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where he worked up until his retirement in 1937. In 1939 he was re-instated to his former position, and remained at the institute until 1945.Lockemann, Georg
in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 15 (1987), S. 6 f. In 1909 he obtained a new habilitation, this time at the

Agricultural University of Berlin The Agricultural University of Berlin () was an agricultural university in Berlin, Germany. Established in 1881, it was closed in 1934, and incorporated as a faculty into the Humboldt University of Berlin. History Academic teaching in agricultur ...

, where he submitted a thesis dealing with improvements of the

Marsh test The Marsh test is a highly sensitive method in the detection of arsenic, especially useful in the field of forensic toxicology when arsenic was used as a poison. It was developed by the chemist James Marsh and first published in 1836. The meth ...

for the detection of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

. While employed at the Robert Koch Institute, he also taught classes on the history of chemistry and

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

(1921–45). In 1946-48 he continued work as an instructor at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

.Important Figures of Analytical Chemistry from Germany in Brief Biographies
by D. Thorburn Burns, R. Klaus Müller, Reiner Salzer, Gerhard Werner In addition to making improvements to the Marsh test, he developed methods for detecting

cyanogen Cyanogen is the chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula . Its structure is . The simplest stable carbon nitride, it is a Transparency and translucency, colorless and highly toxic gas with a pungency, pungent odor. The molecule is a ...

s in mixtures and devised an apparatus for

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is an organic compound with the chemical formula and structure , more precisely . The compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde. It is stored as ...

determination. In the 1950s he published a two-part work on the history of chemistry, "''Geschichte der Chemie in kurzgefaßter Darstellung''", that was later translated into English ("The Story of Chemistry", 1959). He was also the author of biographies on

Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable a ...

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

Carl Wilhelm Scheele Carl Wilhelm Scheele (, ; 9 December 1742 – 21 May 1786) was a Swedish Pomerania, German-Swedish pharmaceutical chemist. Scheele discovered oxygen (although Joseph Priestley published his findings first), and identified the elements molybd ...

and

Hermann Kolbe Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe (27 September 1818 – 25 November 1884) was a German chemist and academic, and a major contributor to the birth of modern organic chemistry. He was a professor at Marburg and Leipzig. Kolbe was the first to apply t ...

that were included in Günther Bugge's "''Buch der großen Chemiker ''". In 1949 he published an extensive biography on

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Buns ...

, titled "''Lebensbild eines deutschen Naturforschers''".

Additional works

* ''I. Über die Akroleïndarstellung nach dem Borsäureverfahren und Beiträge zur Kenntnis des Aethylidenphenylhydrazins. II. Über den Arsennachweis mit dem Marsh'schen Apparate und die katalytische Zersetzung von Arsenwasserstoff'', 1904 – On acrolein representation according to the

boric acid Boric acid, more specifically orthoboric acid, is a compound of boron, oxygen, and hydrogen with formula . It may also be called hydrogen orthoborate, trihydroxidoboron or boracic acid. It is usually encountered as colorless crystals or a white ...

method and contributions to the knowledge of ethylidene phenylhydrazines. On arsenic detection by Marsh's apparatus and the catalytic decomposition of

arsine Arsine (IUPAC name: arsane) is an inorganic compound with the formula As H3. This flammable, pyrophoric, and highly toxic pnictogen hydride gas is one of the simplest compounds of arsenic. Despite its lethality, it finds some applications in th ...

. * ''Die Entwicklung und der gegenwärtige Stand der Atomtheorie, in Umrissen'', 1905 – The development and the current state of the atomic theory in outline. * ''Einführung in die analytische Chemie'', 1907 – Introduction to

analytical chemistry Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute t ...

. * ''Die Beziehungen der Chemie zur Biologie und Medizin'', 1909 – The relationship of chemistry to biology and medicine. * ''Ernst Beckmann (1853-1923) sein leben und wirken dargestellt'', 1927 – Ernst Otto Beckmann, his life and work. * ''Dritter Bericht über die Erforschung der Haffkrankheit'', 1930 – Third report on the investigation of

Haff disease Haff may refer to: People * Carroll Barse Haff (1892–1947), American track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics *Bergljot Hobæk Haff Bergljot Hobæk Haff (1 May 1925 – 12 February 2016) was a Norwegian educator and no ...

.Most widely held works by Georg Lockemann
OCLC WorldCat

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockemann, Georg 1871 births 1959 deaths People from Northeim Heidelberg University alumni Leibniz University Hannover alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Göttingen 20th-century German chemists