1742-1786

Swedish Chemist and Druggist

Swedish-born chemist whose record as a discoverer of new elements, compounds, and chemical reactions has long remained unequaled.

Karl Wilhelm Scheele was born in Stralsund, Germany (formerly the capital of Swedish Pomerania.) Scheele's interest in chemistry began during his experience as an apprentice to an apothecary in the town of Goteborg. He had no formal education. His teacher, Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman (1735-1784), obtained a small pension for Scheele from the Stockholm Academy of Science, which the young apprentice in turn used to fund his chemical experiments. Scheele spent most of life in poverty, serving as an apprentice in Malmö and Stockholm before settling in as a pharmacist in the small town of Koping. He preferred remaining an apothecary to becoming a university professor.

His lack of career advancement, however, in no way parallels his scientific achievements. While in...