4 December – 1810-1820: Avogadro & Berzelius

4 December – 1810-1820: Avogadro & Berzelius

4 – 1810-1820 – Avogadro & Berzelius

Day 4 of the chemistry advent timeline looks at two well-known chemists: Amedeo Avogadro and Jöns Jakob Berzelius.

Avogadro is very familiar to chemists thanks to Avogadro’s number, though this number was named after him rather than by him. There’s more on Avogadro’s number, the mole, and what it all means here.

Berzelius was a huge figure in chemistry, and made a number of notable discoveries. He also had a help from his housekeeper, Anna Sundström, who has been referred to as the first female chemist in Sweden. It’s difficult to know the extent of her contributions, as few records exist from her time with Berzelius. Eventually, she was forced to leave his employment when Berzelius married.

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