Portrait of Johannes Christian Brunnich with a bicycle

Johannes Christian Brünnich (11 September 1861 – 3 July 1933) was an Australian agricultural

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 ...

. Brünnich was the son of Christian Christoph Brünnich, a Lutheran

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, and his wife Pauline Therese, née Kühnehe and was born at

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

, then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, now

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Raised in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, he was educated in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

after his family moved there in 1874 and obtained his knowledge of chemistry at the federal polytechnic school at

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. He travelled in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and for a period was chemist in a sugar-mill in Bohemia. While performing Swiss military service in 1884, he met Dr J. J. Mueller of Gayndah, Queensland, and decided to emigrate to Australia, arriving in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

early in 1885. In 1887, Brünnich became chief chemist and mill manager for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company at Homebush, near Mackay. In 1897 he was appointed government agricultural chemist in the new

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Department of Agriculture. For about 35 years he advised the department on a multiplicity of problems relating to agriculture in Queensland, and drafted many bills for the government relating among other things to fertilizers, stock foods, pure seeds and the destruction of pests. He also made scientific investigations into the prickly pear problem, the use of dipping fluids, water pollution and the provision of phosphatic licks for stock. He was vice-president of the Royal Society of Queensland in 1907, president in 1908 and treasurer in 1909-14. Brünnich did valuable pioneer work in his investigations of pasture composition and set a high standard in his department. Generally he was a strong influence in the development of applied chemistry during his time. He retired from the agriculture department in September 1931 and died of cerebro-vascular disease on 3 July 1933. In 1886, he married Kate Terry, who survived him with two sons and three daughters. He was a foundation member and fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and was elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain in 1905. In 1908, he was president of the Royal Society of Queensland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunnich, Johannes Christian 1861 births 1933 deaths Australian chemists People from Gorizia Royal Society of Queensland Fellows of the Royal Institute of Chemistry