Johann Nepomuk von Fuchs (15 May 1774 – 5 March 1856) 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 ...

and

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

, and royal Bavarian privy councillor.

Biography

He was born at Mattenzell, near Falkenstein in the

Bavarian Forest image:Zell-bayerischer-wald.jpg, The village of Zell in the Bavarian Forest The Bavarian Forest ( or ''Bayerwald'' ; ) is a wooded, low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany, that is about 100 kilometres long. It runs along the Czech Republic, C ...

. In 1807 he became professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

at the

Ludwig Maximilian University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke Ludwig IX of Bav ...

, which was located in

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

at the time, and in 1823 conservator of the mineralogical collections at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where he was appointed professor of mineralogy three years later, when the university was relocated. He retired in 1852, was ennobled by the

Maximilian II of Bavaria Maximilian II (28 November 1811 – 10 March 1864) reigned as King of Bavaria between 1848 and 1864. Unlike his father, King Ludwig I, "King Max" was very popular and took a greater interest in the business of Government than in personal ext ...

in 1854, and died at Munich on 5 March 1856. He is largely known for his mineralogical observations and for his work on waterglass (

sodium silicate Sodium silicate is a generic name for chemical compounds with the formula or ·, such as sodium metasilicate (), sodium orthosilicate (), and sodium pyrosilicate (). The anions are often polymeric. These compounds are generally colorless tra ...

). He used it to develop

stereochromy Mineral painting or Keim's process, also known as stereochromy, is a mural or fresco painting technique that uses a water glass-based paint to maximize the lifetime of the finished work. The name "stereochromy" was first used in about 1825 by Joh ...

, a kind of

fresco painting Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes ...

where the pigments are fixed with waterglass. Historically, the substance was sometimes referred to as "Fuchs's soluble glass". Also, he developed a scientific method for the production of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

and made contributions to the understanding of the amorphic state of solids. He coined the mineral names wagnerite (1821) and

margarite Margarite is a calcium rich member of the mica group of the phyllosilicates with formula: Ca Al2(Al2 Si2) O10(O H)2. It forms white to pinkish or yellowish gray masses or thin laminae. It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system. It typica ...

(1823), and with Adolph Ferdinand Gehlen, was co-describer of the mineral mesolite (1816). A variety of

muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage y ...

called

fuchsite Fuchsite, also known as chrome mica, is a chromium (Cr)-rich variety of the mineral muscovite, belonging to the mica group of phyllosilicate minerals, with the chemical formula . Trivalent chromium replaces one of the aluminium (Al) atoms in t ...

commemorates his name.

Published works

* ''Über die Entstehung der Porzellan-Erde'', 1821 n the origin of porcelain earth">porcelain.html" ;"title="n the origin of porcelain">n the origin of porcelain earth* ''Neue Methode das Bier auf seine wesentlichen Bestandtheile zu untersuchen'', 1836 [New method to research essential components of beer] * ''Naturgeschichte des Mineralreichs'', 1842 [Natural history of the mineral world] * ''Über die Theorien der Erde, den Amorphismus fester Körper und den gegenseitigen Einfluß der Chemie und Mineralogie'', 1844 n theories in earth sciences, the amorphism of solid bodies and the mutual influence of chemistry and mineralogy* ''La stéréochromie: peinture monumentale'', 1861 (French translation by Léon Dalemagne)Google Search
published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Johann Nepomuk von 1774 births 1856 deaths 18th-century German chemists 19th-century German chemists German mineralogists German Roman Catholics Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich German untitled nobility 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers