1853-1932

German Chemist, Philosopher and Color Theorist

Co-founder of the discipline of physical chemistry, Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932) won the 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on catalysis, electrochemistry, and solution theory. A prolific researcher with an engaging personality, he wrote 45 books and almost 500 articles, and edited six journals. His experimental results and techniques reshaped chemical theory by their integration with concepts and methods drawn from physics.

Born and raised in Riga, Latvia, Ostwald enrolled at the University of Dorpat (now Tartu in Estonia) in 1872, receiving his doctorate in 1878. After serving as a laboratory assistant and non-salaried lecturer, he became a professor at the Riga Polytechnic Institute in 1881, where he gained fame as a teacher and researcher. In 1880 he married Helene von Reyher, a surgeon's daughter; of their five children, Wolfgang became a noted colloid chemist, and Gretel wrote her father's biography. In 1887 the University...