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'' ("collecti ...
– 4 December 1959, in Hollenstedt) was a German
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 th ...
.
Biography
He studied chemistry at the
Technical University of Hannover
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...
and at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
, 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 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 class of simi ...
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 Ott ...
at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), 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 Decemb ...
, where in 1904 he obtained his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
with a thesis on studies of
acrolein
Acrolein (systematic name: propenal) is the simplest unsaturated aldehyde. It is a colorless liquid with a piercing, acrid smell. The smell of burnt fat (as when cooking oil is heated to its smoke point) is caused by glycerol in the burning fa ...
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 Federal ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, 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 (german: Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule 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 Ber ...
, 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 metho ...
for the detection of
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, but ...
. 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 medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
at the
University of Berlin (1921–45). In 1946-48 he continued work as an instructor at the
University of Göttingen.
[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 cyanogens in mixtures and devised an apparatus for formaldehyde 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, Joseph Priestley, Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Hermann Kolbe 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 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.
* ''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.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
University of Hanover alumni
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin
Academic staff of the University of Göttingen
20th-century German chemists