Johann Rudolf Glauber
Encyclopedia
Johann Rudolf Glauber was a German
-Dutch
alchemist
and chemist
. Some historians of science have described him as one of the first chemical engineer
s. His discovery of sodium sulfate
in 1625 led to the compound being named after him: "Glauber's salt".
, the son of a barber
, he was one of a large family and did not finish school, but is thought to have studied pharmacy
and visited a number of laboratories. He himself said that he was glad that he had not suffered the grind of high school but had instead learned by experience. He lived in Vienna
(1625), Salzburg
, Giessen, Wertheim
(1649–1651), Kitzingen
(1651–1655), Basel
, Paris
, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne
and Amsterdam
(1640–1644, 1646–1649, 1656-death). He worked first manufacturing mirrors and later for two periods as Apothecary
to the court in Giessen, the second time as the Chief Apothecary, leaving because of the Thirty Years War. In Amsterdam he built up a business manufacturing pharmaceuticals (including chemicals such as Glauber's salt). This led to both great financial success and in 1649 bankruptcy
, which is the reason for his move from Amsterdam to Wertheim
.
He married twice, and with his second wife Helena Cornelius (married 1641) had eight children. His son Johannes Glauber
probably helped him with his engraved illustrations.
In 1660 he became seriously ill, which has been attributed to poisoning from the various heavy metals used in his work, and in 1666 was crippled by a fall from a wagon and was confined to bed for the rest of his life. As a result he had to sell off books and equipment to provide for his family. He died on 16 March 1670 in Amsterdam.
, supplying medicines, and known for providing free medical treatment to the poors. However, he is known for his contributions to inorganic chemistry
and the fact that he was able to live from the proceeds of chemical production based upon his discoveries, and was thus an industrial chemist
. His improvements to chemical processes and equipments (notably furnace
s and distillation
devices) make him an early chemical engineer
.
In particular he was first to produce concentrated hydrochloric acid
. He also made an improved process for the manufacture of nitric acid
in 1648, by heating potassium nitrate
with concentrated sulphuric acid. His production of sodium sulfate
, which he called sal mirabilis or "wonderful salt", brought him fame and the honour of being named "Glauber's salt". It was an effective but relatively safe laxative
at a time when purging (emptying the digestive tract) was a popular treatment for many diseases.
The chemical garden
(or silica garden) was first observed and described by Glauber in 1649. In its original form, the chemical garden involved the introduction of ferrous chloride (FeCl2) crystals into a solution of potassium silicate
(K2SiO3, water glass).
He was the first to synthesize and isolate antimony trichloride
, arsenic trichloride
, tin tetrachloride and zinc chloride
.
In addition he wrote about 40 books. A visionary one is Dess Teutschlands Wohlfahrt (Germany's Prosperity) in which he proposed the chemical industries as a means for Germany's economic recovery after the Thirty Years War.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
and 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...
. Some historians of science have described him as one of the first chemical engineer
Chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
s. His discovery of sodium sulfate
Sodium sulfate
Sodium sulfate is the sodium salt of sulfuric acid. When anhydrous, it is a white crystalline solid of formula Na2SO4 known as the mineral thenardite; the decahydrate Na2SO4·10H2O has been known as Glauber's salt or, historically, sal mirabilis since the 17th century. Another solid is the...
in 1625 led to the compound being named after him: "Glauber's salt".
Life
Born in 1604 in Karlstadt am MainKarlstadt am Main
Karlstadt is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the Main-Spessart district seat ....
, the son of a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
, he was one of a large family and did not finish school, but is thought to have studied 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...
and visited a number of laboratories. He himself said that he was glad that he had not suffered the grind of high school but had instead learned by experience. He lived in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(1625), Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Giessen, Wertheim
Wertheim
Wertheim may refer to:* Wertheim vacuum cleaner, a brand of vacuum cleaner* Wertheim am Main, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Wertheim , a chain of German department stores...
(1649–1651), Kitzingen
Kitzingen
Kitzingen is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants.Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria...
(1651–1655), Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(1640–1644, 1646–1649, 1656-death). He worked first manufacturing mirrors and later for two periods as Apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
to the court in Giessen, the second time as the Chief Apothecary, leaving because of the Thirty Years War. In Amsterdam he built up a business manufacturing pharmaceuticals (including chemicals such as Glauber's salt). This led to both great financial success and in 1649 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, which is the reason for his move from Amsterdam to Wertheim
Wertheim
Wertheim may refer to:* Wertheim vacuum cleaner, a brand of vacuum cleaner* Wertheim am Main, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Wertheim , a chain of German department stores...
.
He married twice, and with his second wife Helena Cornelius (married 1641) had eight children. His son Johannes Glauber
Johannes Glauber
Johannes Glauber , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he became a painter against the wishes of his father, the chemist Johann Rudolph Glauber , and became a pupil of Nicolaes Berchem on his own, living with Gerrit van Uylenburgh and working on copies of Italianate...
probably helped him with his engraved illustrations.
In 1660 he became seriously ill, which has been attributed to poisoning from the various heavy metals used in his work, and in 1666 was crippled by a fall from a wagon and was confined to bed for the rest of his life. As a result he had to sell off books and equipment to provide for his family. He died on 16 March 1670 in Amsterdam.
Work
Glauber carried out studies on the chemistry of wine production and had commercial success by licensing improvements. He was also an apothecaryApothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
, supplying medicines, and known for providing free medical treatment to the poors. However, he is known for his contributions to inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. This field covers all chemical compounds except the myriad organic compounds , which are the subjects of organic chemistry...
and the fact that he was able to live from the proceeds of chemical production based upon his discoveries, and was thus an industrial 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...
. His improvements to chemical processes and equipments (notably furnace
Furnace
A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...
s and distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
devices) make him an early chemical engineer
Chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
.
In particular he was first to produce concentrated hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
. He also made an improved process for the manufacture of nitric acid
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
in 1648, by heating potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
with concentrated sulphuric acid. His production of sodium sulfate
Sodium sulfate
Sodium sulfate is the sodium salt of sulfuric acid. When anhydrous, it is a white crystalline solid of formula Na2SO4 known as the mineral thenardite; the decahydrate Na2SO4·10H2O has been known as Glauber's salt or, historically, sal mirabilis since the 17th century. Another solid is the...
, which he called sal mirabilis or "wonderful salt", brought him fame and the honour of being named "Glauber's salt". It was an effective but relatively safe laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
at a time when purging (emptying the digestive tract) was a popular treatment for many diseases.
The chemical garden
Chemical Garden
A chemical garden is an experiment in chemistry normally done by adding solid metal salts such as copper sulfate or cobalt chloride to an aqueous solution of sodium silicate . This results in growth of plant like forms in minutes to hours. The chemical garden was first observed and described by...
(or silica garden) was first observed and described by Glauber in 1649. In its original form, the chemical garden involved the introduction of ferrous chloride (FeCl2) crystals into a solution of potassium silicate
Potassium silicate
Potassium silicate is a water-soluble and glass-forming silicate salt of general formula K2SiO3 with many common uses for at least a century.-Woodwork protection against fire:...
(K2SiO3, water glass).
He was the first to synthesize and isolate antimony trichloride
Antimony trichloride
Antimony trichloride is the chemical compound with the formula SbCl3. The soft colorless solid with a pungent odor was known to the alchemists as butter of antimony.-Preparation:...
, arsenic trichloride
Arsenic trichloride
Arsenic trichloride is an inorganic compound with the formula AsCl3, also known as arsenous chloride or butter of arsenic. This poisonous oil is colourless, although impure samples may appear yellow. It is an intermediate in the manufacture of organoarsenic compounds.-Structure:AsCl3 is a...
, tin tetrachloride and zinc chloride
Zinc chloride
Zinc chloride is the name of chemical compound with the formula ZnCl2 and its hydrates. Zinc chlorides, of which nine crystalline forms are known, are colorless or white, and are highly soluble in water. ZnCl2 itself is hygroscopic and even deliquescent. Samples should therefore be protected from...
.
In addition he wrote about 40 books. A visionary one is Dess Teutschlands Wohlfahrt (Germany's Prosperity) in which he proposed the chemical industries as a means for Germany's economic recovery after the Thirty Years War.
See also
- Glauber's salt, sal mirabilis, or mirabilite (Na2SO4 · 10 H2O)
- Chemical gardenChemical GardenA chemical garden is an experiment in chemistry normally done by adding solid metal salts such as copper sulfate or cobalt chloride to an aqueous solution of sodium silicate . This results in growth of plant like forms in minutes to hours. The chemical garden was first observed and described by...
, or silica garden
Selected publications
- Dess Teutschlands Wohlfahrt 1656-1661
- Operis mineralis Oder Vieler künstlichen und nutzlichen metallischen Arbeiten Beschreibung, 1651–1652
- Opera omnia (Collected Works), 7 vols 1669
- De Auri Tinctura sive Auro Potabili Vero: Was solche sey/ vnnd wie dieselbe von einem falschen vnd Sophistischen Auro Potabili zu vnterscheiden vnd zu erkennen … wozu solche in Medicina könne gebraucht werden. Beschrieben vnd an Tag gegeben Durch Joh. Rud. Glauberum 1646
- Furni Novi Philosophici Oder Beschreibung einer New-erfundenen Distilir-Kunst: Auch was für Spiritus, Olea, Flores, und andere dergleichen Vegetabilische/ Animalische/ und Mineralische Medicamenten/ damit … können zugericht und bereytet werden, 2 vols. 1646-1647
- Miraculum Mundi, oder Außführliche Beschreibung der wunderbaren Natur/ Art/ vnd Eigenschafft/ deß Großmächtigen Subiecti: Von den Alten Menstruum Vniversale oder Mercurius Philosophorum genandt. . - an Tag geben/ vnd jetzo auff das newe corrigiret vnd verbesert Durch Iohann Rudolph Glaubern, 7 vols. 1653-1658
- Johann Rudolf Glauberi Apologia oder Verthaidigung gegen Christoff Farners Lügen und Ehrabschneidung, 2 vols 1655
- Zweyte Apologia, oder Ehrenrettung gegen Christoff Farnern, Speyerischen Thom-Stiffts Schaffnern zu Löchgaw, unmenschliche Lügen und Ehrabschneidung 1656
- Tractatus De Medicina Universali, Sive Auro Potabili Vero. Oder Außführliche Beschreibung einer wahren Universal Medicin: wie auch deroselben Wunderbahrlichen grossen Krafft und Wirckung. . - Der jetzigen blinden Welt … wolmeinend beschrieben und an Tag gegeben Durch Johan. Rudolph. Glauber, 2 vols. 1657
- Tractatus de natura salium, 2 vols 1658-1659
- Tractatus de signatura salium, metallorum, et planetarum, sive fundamentalis institutio, evident. monstrans, quo pacto facillime non solum salium, metall., atque planetarum … supputari queant (1658)
- Opera chymica: Bücher und Schrifften, so viel deren von ihme bißhero an Tag gegeben worden; jetzo vom neuen übersehen und vermehret (Collected Works), 2 vols 1658-1659
- Explicatio oder Außlegung über die Wohrten Salomonis: In herbis, verbis, et lapidibus, magna est virtus, 2 vols. 1663-1664
- Libellus dialogorum, sive colloquia, nonnullorum Hermeticae medicinae, ac tincturae universalis 1663
- Novum lumen chimicum: oder e. new-erfundenen u.d. Weldt noch niemahlen bekand-gemachten hohen Secreti Offenbarung 1664
- Von den dreyen Anfangen der Metallen, alß Schwefel, Mercurio und Salz der Weisen 1666
- Tractatus de tribus principiis metallorum, videlicet sulphure, mercurio et sale philosophorum, quemadmodzum illa in medicina, alchymia aliisque artibus associatis utiliter adhiberi valeant 1667
- Glauberus Concentratus Oder Laboratorium Glauberianum: Darinn die Specification, vnd Taxation dehren Medicinalischen/ vnd Chymischen Arcanitäten begriffen; Sambt Aller dehren künstlichen Oefen vnd Instrumenten … Durch Den Authorem … obgedachter Raritäten … an tag gegeben 1668
- De Elia artista 1667
- De tribus lapidibus ignium secretorum: Oder von den drey Alleredelsten Gesteinen 1667
- De lapide animali 1669
- Libellus ignium: Oder Feuer-Buechlein, Darinnen von unterschiedlichen frembden und biß Dato noch gantz unbekandten Feuern gehandelt: Wozu sie dienen und was für unglaubliche Dinge und unaußsprechlicher Nutzen dem Menschlichen Geschlecht dadurch kommen und zu wegen gebracht werden koenne. Zu Gottes Ehre und Dienst deß Nechsten wolmeinend beschrieben und an Tag gegeben durch Joh. Rudoph. Glauberum 1663
External sources
Further reading
- http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/texts/viewtext.php?id=OTHE00063&mode=normalized John T. Young (1998) Faith, Medical Alchemy and Natural Philosophy: Johann Moriaen, Reformed Intelligencer, and the Hartlib Circle (Aldershot: Ashgate) Chapter 6: Universal Medicines: Johann Rudolph Glauber and his Reception in England