Friedrich Albrecht Carl Gren (1 May 1760 – 26 November 1798) was a German chemist

Chemist

A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...

 who was a native of Bernburg

Bernburg

Bernburg is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Salzlandkreis. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 30 km downstream from Halle. The town is dominated by its huge Renaissance castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its...

. He began his career working in a pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 in Bernburg, and later worked as a pharmacist in Offenbach am Main and Erfurt

Erfurt

Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

. In 1782 he began his studies at the University of Helmstedt

University of Helmstedt

The University of Helmstedt, official Latin name: Academia Julia , was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810....

, and in 1788 became professor of chemistry and physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 at the University of Halle.

In 1790 Friedrich Gren was founder of the Journal der Physik (in 1795-97 called Neues Journal der Physik), which in 1799 was renamed Annalen der Physik

Annalen der Physik

Annalen der Physik is one of the oldest physics journals worldwide. The journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers in the areas of experimental, theoretical, applied and mathematical physics and related areas...

by Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert

Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert

Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert was a German physicist and chemist, and professor of physics at the University of Leipzig. From 1799-1824 he published the "Annalen der Physik", of which Poggendorffs "Annalen der Physik und Chemie" was a continuation.-Biography:Gilbert was born in Berlin...

 (1769-1824). Today it is the oldest and one of the best-known journals on physics. He was also the author of a popular textbook on chemistry titled Systematisches Handbuch der gesamten Chemie.

Gren was a major proponent of the theory concerning the existence of phlogiston. After Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier demonstrated that combustion

Combustion

Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...

 required oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

, he compromised his beliefs, and postulated that oxygen and phlogiston worked alongside each other.

Selected writings

• Betrachtungen über die Gärung, (Reflections on Fermentation), 1784
• Systematisches Handbuch der gesamten Chemie, (Systematic Textbook on All Chemistry), 1787-1794, letzte Auflage 1819
• Grundriss der Naturlehre, 1787, 6. Auflage 1820