Jaroslav Heyrovsky dedicated his life to the study and improvement of a technique to analyze chemical solutions. His work led to his invention of the polarograph , a piece of scientific equipment used to quickly and efficiently determine the composition of a solution. For this, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1959. Throughout his long career, Heyrovsky collaborated with many other scientists to develop his methods. He also made valuable contributions to scientific publications in his home country, gaining international recognition for the work being done by Czech scientists.

Heyrovsky was born in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic) on December 20, 1890, to Leopold, a professor of Roman law at Charles University in Prague, and Klára (Hanl) Heyrovsky. It was during his years at the gymnasium (high school) in Prague that Heyrovsky developed a deep interest in mathematics and physics. By the time he entered the...