Charles Frédéric Gerhardt

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Charles Frédéric Gerhardt
Charles Frédéric Gerhardt
Charles Frédéric Gerhardt
Born August 21, 1816
Strasbourg
Died August 19, 1856
Nationality French
Fields chemistry
Known for notation for chemical formulas
acetylsalicylic acid

Charles Frédéric Gerhardt (August 21, 1816 – August 19, 1856) was a French chemist. He was born in Strasbourg and studied in Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Gießen, and Dresden. In 1838 he went to Paris, and in 1841 to Montpellier, where he became a titular professor for chemistry in 1844. After some quarrels with established chemists over some of his scientific publications, Gerhardt left Montpellier in 1848 for Paris, where he opened his own École de chimie pratique ("School for practical chemistry"). This school did not flourish, though, and in 1855 Gerhardt accepted a professorship in chemistry at the École Polytechnique in Strasbourg, where he died the following year.

Gerhardt is known for his work on reforming the notation for chemical formulas (1843 - 1846). He also worked on acid anhydrides, and synthesized acetylsalicylic acid, albeit in an unstable and impure form.

Gerhardt is usually linked with his contemporary, Auguste Laurent, with whom he shared a strong and influential interest in chemical combination.

[edit] Selected writings

  • Gerhardt, C. (1853). Traité de Chimie Organique, Volume 1. 
  • Gerhardt, C. (1854). Traité de Chimie Organique, Volume 2. 
  • Gerhardt, C. (1854). Traité de Chimie Organique, Volume 3. 
  • Gerhardt, C. (1856). Traité de Chimie Organique, Volume 4. 

[edit] References

  • Charlot, Colette (Jul 2007). [Charles Frédéric Gerhardt at Montpellier from 1841 to 1848]. Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie 55 (354): 197-208. PMID 18175527. 
  • Viel, Claude (Jul 2007). [The financial distress of the Charles Gerhardt's widow]. Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie 55 (354): 189-96. PMID 18175526. 
  • Lafont, O (1996). [Clarification on publications concerning the synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid]. Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie 43 (310): 269-73. PMID 11624864. 
  • Dickerson, Jimmy (1985). "Charles Gerhardt and the Theory of Organic Combination". Journal of Chemical Education 62: 323 – 325. 
  • Grimaux. M.; Gerhardt, M. C. (1900). Charles Gerhardt, sa Vie, son Oeuvre, sa Correspondance. Paris: Masson. 
  • Moore, F. J. (1918). A History of Chemistry. New York: McGraw-Hill. - See Chapter 6, "Gerhardt and the Chemical Reformation - Williamson".