1803-1873

German Chemist

Justus von Liebig was one of the most influential chemists of the nineteenth century. As a scientist, Liebig offered bold theoretical frameworks and trained a generation of students and colleagues who led developments in organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, physiological chemistry, agricultural chemistry, and industrial chemistry for decades. As a popularizer of science, Liebig explained to academics, bureaucrats, farmers, and monarchs chemistry's utility as the basis for modernization, improvements in public health and nutrition, and greater international cooperation. As an entrepreneur, Liebig demonstrated the commercial potential of applied chemistry through enterprises that manufactured fertilizers, mirrors, baking powders, infant formulas, and meat extract.

Liebig was born in Darmstadt in 1803, where his parents operated a small shop that sold hardware and useful chemicals like paints and varnishes. Unable to complete a formal secondary education for financial reasons, Liebig moved to nearby Heppenheim to apprentice...