Jacob Volhard (4 June 1834 – 14 January 1910) was the German chemist who discovered, together with his student

Hugo Erdmann Hugo Wilhelm Traugott Erdmann (8 May 1862 – 25 June 1910) was the German chemist who discovered, together with his doctoral advisor Jacob Volhard, the Volhard-Erdmann cyclization. In 1898 he was the first who coined the term ''noble gas'' (the ...

, the Volhard–Erdmann cyclization reaction. He was also responsible for the improvement of the

Hell–Volhard–Zelinsky halogenation The Hell–Volhard–Zelinsky halogenation reaction is a chemical transformation that involves the halogenation of a carboxylic acid at the α carbon. For this reaction to occur the α carbon must bear at least one proton. The reaction is named a ...

. From 1852 to 1855 he studied chemistry at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

, and afterwards, furthered his education 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 university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

. For two years he worked as an assistant under

Justus von Liebig Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biology, biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a profess ...

at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: link=no, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of ...

, and in 1860/61 studied with

August Wilhelm von Hofmann August Wilhelm von Hofmann (8 April 18185 May 1892) was a German chemist who made considerable contributions to organic chemistry. His research on aniline helped lay the basis of the aniline-dye industry, and his research on coal tar laid the ...

in London. In 1863 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 ...

at Munich, where he subsequently became an associate professor. In the meantime, he worked in the Institute of Plant Physiology at the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledg ...

(1865–76). In 1879 he was named a professor of

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 the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, then in 1882 relocated to the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, where he served as a professor up until 1908.

Selected works

* ''Die Begründung der Chemie durch Lavoisier'', 1870 – The founding of chemistry by

Antoine Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS ( Edward Renouf. * ''August Wilhelm von Hofmann : ein Lebensbild im Auftrage der Deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft'', 1902 – Biography of August Wilhelm von Hofmann. * ''Justus von Liebig'' (2 volumes, 1909) – Biography of Justus von Liebig.Most widely held works by Jakob Volhard
WorldCat Identities

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Volhard, Jacob 1834 births 1910 deaths 19th-century German chemists Scientists from Darmstadt People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse University of Giessen alumni Heidelberg University alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg faculty

Selected works

See also

References