Sven Rinman was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist who discovered the pigment

Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...

 cobalt green

Cobalt green

Cobalt green, sometimes known as Rinman's green or Zinc Green, is a translucent green pigment made by heating a mixture of cobalt oxide and zinc oxide. Sven Rinman, a Swedish chemist, discovered this compound in 1780. Although it is stable and can be safely mixed with other pigments, it is rarely...

, sometimes also called Rinman's green. He had a great influence on mining and the steel production in Sweden.

Life and work

Rinman was born in Uppsala in 1720. At the age of 20 he became teacher at the Royal College of Mines. In the years 1746 and 1747 Rinman visited several European countries to improve his knowledge on mining and metallurgy. After his return he became inspector in several mines and metal works. His research on mining and metallurgy had a big influence on the Swedish industry. He was elected a member 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...

in 1753. His two most widely used books Bergwerks lexicon(1788–89) (Mining lexicon) and Afhandling rörande mechaniquen (1794) (Treatise on Mechanique), which was published by his son Carl after his death, became standard for mining engineers in Sweden.