Wilhelm Ostwald

Chemist

Birthday September 2, 1853

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Germany

DEATH DATE Apr 4, 1932 (78)

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About

A German chemist who was known as one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for discovering that chemical reactions occur at finite rates, and that these rates can be used to figure out the strengths of acids and bases.

Before Fame

He obtained both his undergraduate degree and his Ph.D. from the University of Tartu, Estonia.

Trivia

He became a member of the International Committee on Atomic Weights in 1906 and served on the committee until World War I erupted.

Family Life

He had five children with his wife Helene von Reyher, who he married in 1854.

Associated With

He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry the year after Ernest Rutherford did.