Carl Axel Arrhenius
Encyclopedia
Lt. Carl Axel Arrhenius (1757–1824) was a Swedish chemist. He is most widely known as the discoverer of the element Yttrium
.
Arrhenius was born in Stockholm
. He was interested in mineralogy and chemistry after he met Peter Jacob Hjelm at the Swedish Royal Mint laboratory. Arrhenius was a lieutenant
at the Svea artilleriregemente
stationed in Vaxholm
; he took part in the campaign in Finland in 1788. He was promoted to Feldzeugmeister
and Lieutenant-Colonel at the Svea artilleriregemente
and was handed the command in 1816 of the manufacture of powder in the kingdom. His chemistry studies started at the Royal Mint's (Kungliga Myntet) laboratory, where he studied the characteristics of powder as an artillery officer. During his visit to Paris in 1787-88 he met Antoine Lavoisier
, "the father of modern chemistry", and upon his return to Sweden became an ardent defender of the revolutionary teachings in chemistry promoted by Antoine Lavoisier.
During his time in Vaxholm he also visited the feldspar
mine in Ytterby
on the island of Resarön near Vaxholm. He found a dark mineral which he named ytterbite and sent to Johan Gadolin
at the University of Åbo for further analysis.
Arrhenius was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences
from 1799 and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
from 1817.
Yttrium
Yttrium is a chemical element with symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and it has often been classified as a "rare earth element". Yttrium is almost always found combined with the lanthanides in rare earth minerals and is...
.
Arrhenius was born in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. He was interested in mineralogy and chemistry after he met Peter Jacob Hjelm at the Swedish Royal Mint laboratory. Arrhenius was a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
at the Svea artilleriregemente
Svea artilleriregemente
Svea artilleriregemente , designation A 1, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Svealand, and it was also garrisoned there.- History :The regiment has its origins in...
stationed in Vaxholm
Vaxholm
Vaxholm is a locality and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this name on the inlet to Stockholm, for defense purposes, by King Gustav...
; he took part in the campaign in Finland in 1788. He was promoted to Feldzeugmeister
Feldzeugmeister
Feldzeugmeister was a military rank in various European armies , especially in the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found in the beginning of the 20th century in some European countries...
and Lieutenant-Colonel at the Svea artilleriregemente
Svea artilleriregemente
Svea artilleriregemente , designation A 1, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Svealand, and it was also garrisoned there.- History :The regiment has its origins in...
and was handed the command in 1816 of the manufacture of powder in the kingdom. His chemistry studies started at the Royal Mint's (Kungliga Myntet) laboratory, where he studied the characteristics of powder as an artillery officer. During his visit to Paris in 1787-88 he met Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the "father of modern chemistry", was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
, "the father of modern chemistry", and upon his return to Sweden became an ardent defender of the revolutionary teachings in chemistry promoted by Antoine Lavoisier.
During his time in Vaxholm he also visited the feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
mine in Ytterby
Ytterby
Ytterby is a village on the Swedish island of Resarö, in Vaxholm Municipality in the Stockholm archipelago.The name of the village means "outer village", implying that its location is its most noteworthy feature....
on the island of Resarön near Vaxholm. He found a dark mineral which he named ytterbite and sent to Johan Gadolin
Johan Gadolin
Johan Gadolin was a Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist. Gadolin discovered the chemical element yttrium...
at the University of Åbo for further analysis.
Arrhenius was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences or Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademin, founded in 1739 by King Frederick I, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Academy is an independent organization and a forum for military and defense issues. Membership is limited to 160 chairs under the age of...
from 1799 and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
from 1817.