The death of Becker's father, a Protestant minister, left him at the age of eight with the need to help support his mother and brothers. The lack of money for a formal education forced Johann to educate himself, mainly by traveling through Sweden,...

1635-1682 German chemist remembered primarily for his influence on Georg Stahl. Becher's Physicae subterraneae (1669) attempted to adapt traditional alchemical ideas to the growing body of chemical knowledge. He divided solids into three kinds...

Johann Joachim Becher (May 6, 1635 – October 1682), was a German physician, alchemist, precursor of Chemistry, scholar and adventurer, best known for his development of the Phlogiston theory. He was born in Speyer. His father, a Lutheran minister,...