THE 
LIFE WORK 
OF 
Cakl Wilhelm Sr,iieele. 
A Paper read before the Alumni Association 
of the College of Pharmacy of the 
City of New York. 
B. Frank Hays, Ph.G., 
BY 
Nov. 21, 1884. 
Reprinted from the “ Pharmaceutical Record,” Dec. 1, 1884. 
New York : 
3?. W_ BEDFORD, 
No. 36 Beeknian Street. 
1884. THE LIFE-WORK OF CARL WILHELM SCHE$@g 
THE SWEDISH APOTHECARY.* 
By Benjamin Frank Hays, Ph.G. 
(From the Pharmaceutical Record, December 1, 1884.) 
It affords me a great deal of pleasure to call your attention to 
the life and work of a man who, while he achieved the greatest 
fame as a chemist, never deserted his calling, and remained an 
ItCIIUlll , 
no inclination for a study of the higher literary brancnes, ms 
inquiring mind being naturally attracted by a love of investiga- 
tion towards chemistry, and as a means of gratifying this desire 
we find him at the age of fifteen engaged as an apprentice to the 
apothecary of Gothenburg. 
Let us stop for a moment and inquire into the causes which 
conspired to lead the apprentice on to those wonderful discoveries 
upon which his fame shall evermore rest. Like a true child of 
genius, we find him here viewing the occurrences that transpire 
in a pharmacist’s busy life with open eyes and mind filled with 
wonder, and it is in these very points that genius gives proof of 
its genuineness. While the majority of mankind accept facts 
* Read before the Alumni Association of the College of Pharmacy, N. Y., 
November 21,1884. 2 
without endeavoring to substantiate them, and come to regard 
every-day occurrences as commonplace, genius, like a little child 
asks for the “ why,” and views the things men call ordinary with 
amazement bordering upon awe. The great difference between 
men of genius and ordinary mortals lies in the fact that the latter 
need sign-posts and lanterns to direct their footsteps, while the 
former have little use for such aids, and become, as it were, sign- 
posts and lanterns themselves to the rest of humanity. While 
millions of people shuddered at the sound of the thunder and hid 
themselves in dark rooms from fear of the lightning, Franklin 
went out into the storm and drew electricity from the clouds. 
That Scheele was a genius, there is no room for doubt. Per- 
haps some simple accident in the laboratory first kindled Scheele’s 
enthusiasm, and his ardor once kindled, burned with an unquench- 
able flame, and in order to satisfy this craving for knowledge, 
having no special time to devote to his favorite pursuit, we find 
him depriving himself of much needed rest; but to him this was 
no sacrifice, for herein lay his whole source of amusement and 
recreation. Nature is inexorable; she gives nothing for nothing; 
she hides her secrets in her bosom, and every fact man wrenches 
from her is by payment of just so much labor or life. As Long- 
fellow says; 
“ The heights by great men reached and kept, 
Were not attained by sudden flight; 
But they, while their companions slept, 
Were toiling upwards in the night.” 
While Scheele’s comrades were carousing, he was experiment- 
ing, and with the lighted lamp of science in his hand mounted 
the tower of knowledge and engraved his name indelibly upon 
every step. Of the early details of Scheele’s life very little is 
known. After serving his apprenticeship at Gothenburg he re- 
mained at that city for a number of years, and while here studied 
the works of the standard authors of the day, among whom we 
may mention Lemery, Kuukel, Neumann, and Stahl, and the 
latter’s writings seem to have exerted a great influence over 
him, as indeed they did throughout the whole civilized world. 
After leaving Gothenburg, Scheele went to Malmo, and from 
there to Stockholm, and in 1773 settled at Upsala. During these 
years he filled the position of assistant in various pharmacies. 3 
But while his feet wandered from place to place, his love for 
chemistry never wavered, and it is largely due to the experi- 
ments and investigations that he conducted during this time 
that a way was opened to those brilliant discoveries that later in 
life placed him by the side of the ablest men of the day. 
At Upsala he received a position in a pharmacy, and while 
here, through a trifling occurrence, became acquainted with the 
Swedish chemist Bergmann, who then occupied the chair of 
chemistry at the University. One day the proprietor of the 
pharmacy in which Scheele was engaged noticed that when 
saltpetre was heated to a moderate degree it melted, and that if 
the temperature was raised a copious supply of gas was given oil; 
then when the salt became cold, if acetic acid was added, red 
vapors were disengaged. He was ignorant of the cause of the re- 
action, and being acquainted with Gahu, who was then studying 
at the university, and who afterwards became a chemist of note, 
went to him to seek an explanation; but Gahn knew no more of 
it than his friend, and he in turn sought Bergmann, who, as an 
example of the knowledge that then existed among chemists, 
was compelled to admit that he did not know the cause, when 
Scheele, accidentally overhearing the conversation, ventured to 
give an intelligent explanation, and this came to the ears of 
Bergmann, who expressed a desire to see Scheele, and thus began 
an acquaintance that lasted through life. Even at this early 
date Scheele began to develop the characteristic qualities of an 
experimenter: he was one of the first to make actual investiga- 
tion take the place of speculation, one of the first to intelligently 
use reagents, and with this knowledge was enabled to tell a new 
body when he came in contact with it; following up every reac- 
tion until he obtained the whole truth, he carefully examined 
every step of ground he went over, and allowed nothing to 
escape him, one discovery leading on to others. 
His earliest researches, of which I find any account, were made 
in the domain of organic chemistry, and in these investigations 
he had no predecessor; and when we consider the strides he made 
in this intricate department of science, we begin to form some 
idea of his genius. 
He was attracted to this study by observing that the juices of 
various plants and fruits were acid, and he endeavored to dis- 
cover what acid they contained. Now tartar, the deposit from 4 
grape-juice, was known to consist of an acid and an alkaline 
base, but Scheele was the first to isolate this acid, which he 
obtained in the crystalline state. He accurately studied and 
•described its properties, recognized it to be a new compound, 
which, on account of its origin, he called Tartaric Acid. 
In unripe apples he discovered malic acid, and was the first to 
point out the difference between citric and tartaric acids, and to 
obtain citric acid in a pure state. 
Various other plants were known to contain saline bodies, but 
these were supposed to be one or other form of the combination 
of mineral acid with alkalies, and the salt that was present in 
rhubarb root was thought to be a sulphate of potash, until 
Scheele proved it to be an oxalate of lime, and found that many 
other plants contained it, and published a list of thirty seven 
different plants in which he detected this acid combined with 
either lime or potash. 
His mode of ascertaining the presence of oxalate of lime was to 
macerate the drug reduced to powder in muriatic acid, then to filter 
the solution and add ammonia in excess, when if oxalate of lime 
was present he obtained a white precipitate. Continuing his ex- 
periments, he isolated oxalic acid, and later while experimenting 
upon sugar found that he obtained from that body by action of 
nitric acid a new substance, which he proved to be oxalic acid, 
and identical in composition with that which he obtained from 
the various plants. 
When a few years ago Kolbe discovered that he could synthet- 
ically make salicylic acid, the world hailed the discovery with a 
glad shout; but poor Sclieele’s discovery that oxalic acid could 
be made in the laboratory, although equal in importance to the 
German chemist’s work, aroused very little enthusiasm. 
His plan for the separation of the organic acids was to saturate 
the juice of the plant with chalk, and to decompose the result- 
ant lime salt of the unknown acid with either muriatic or sul- 
phuric acids. When the organic acid was soluble in water, he used 
sulphuric acid, thereby setting the acid free in solution, and produc- 
ing an insoluble salt of lime, which was filtered off, and the acid 
solution set aside to crystallize. 
When the acid was insoluble in water, as in the case of benzoic 
acid, he decomposed the’lime salt with muriatic acid, and in this 5 
way forming a very soluble salt of lime, and setting the acid free 
as a precipitate, which was separated by filtration. 
Scheele was the first to introduce this method, which equals 
our most approved methods to-day, for previous to that time the 
only way of preparing these acids, of which only a very few 
were known, was by sublimation. 
In endeavoring to discover the causes which led to the souring 
of milk, he discovered lactic acid, and gave a method for its pro- 
duction upon the large scale, and while engaged upon this investi- 
gation found that he could prepare oxalic acid by action of 
nitric acid on milk sugar. 
He was the first to chemically examine the urine, and to dis- 
cover uric acid, which he proved was always present; and also 
pointed out the presence of benzoic acid in urine, and gave a 
method for the preparation of the same. 
Phosphorus was first discovered by Brandt, who detected its 
presence in urine while endeavoring to extract from that liquid a 
substance capable of transmuting silver into gold; and Dr. Galin 
first pointed out that there existed in bones combined with lime 
an acid similar to that occurring in urine, and Scheele soon after 
proved this salt to be phosphate of lime, and gave a method for 
the extraction of the phosphorus. 
Here, as elsewhere, Scheele figures as the practical chemist, who 
not only made discoveries, but put them to actual use; yet much 
of the honor that should be his is given to others: he suffered as 
scientific and literary men do to-day at the hands of pirates. 
While Scheele was at Stockholm he sent to the Academy an 
elaborate account of his investigation of tartaric acid; but no 
notice was taken of it, and, impatient of the delay, he rewrote the 
article, and gave it into the hands of Retzius, the clerk of the col- 
lege, and in 1770 the paper was published in the Transactions of 
the Stockholm Academy, but in such a way that the whole credit 
was given to this Retzius. But Nature takes care of her children's 
honor, and posterity crowns many a man whose life was blighted 
by just such causes. 
Two of Scheele’s important investigations in organic chemistry 
were in connection with glycerine, and Prussian, or Berlin blue, 
as it was then called. 
Perhaps you think I lay too much importance upon such sim- 6 
pies; but you must remember that Sclieele possessed no sucli ad- 
vantages as the student of chemistry does to-day. An humble 
apothecary’s clerk, working with poor apparatus, he has set an ex- 
ample that should stimulate all young men to attempt to follow 
where he led. 
Glycerine was discovered by Sclieele while heating oxide of lead 
with olive-oil in the preparation of lead-plaster. He recognized 
it to be a new body, closely studied its properties, found it could 
be obtained from various other oils and fatty bodies, and called 
it the “ Sweet Principle of Fats.” This discovery, the real value 
of which Sclieele never fully recognized, must be considered as 
one of his most important when we think to what an extent the 
manufacture of glycerine has grown. 
His experiments with Prussian blue show his ability as a 
chemist, and illustrate one of the most interesting events of his 
life. Prussian blue was discovered by an accident about the year 
1710. Dresbach, a manufacturer of colors in Berlin, wished to 
prepare a red lake, and borrowed from the chemist Dippel, who 
was the discoverer of a peculiar oil which he obtained by the 
destructive distillation of animal matter, and which is known as 
“Dippel’s Oil” to-day, some alkali that the chemist used in the 
preparation of this oil, and when Dresbach added the alkali to his 
mixture of cochineal, alum, and green vitriol, he obtained a blue 
instead of the red color he sought. He mentioned this fact to 
Dippel, who soon succeeded in preparing this pigment at will, and 
which acquired a large sale under the name of Prussian blue. 
Dippel did not know the origin of this color, and though various 
chemists endeavored to explain it, its manufacture remained a se- 
cret until 1724, when Dr. Woodward published a formula for 
making it, and the celebrated chemist Macquer began an investi- 
gation to discover the source of the color, and after an elaborate 
series of experiments came to the following singular conclusion: 
“Prussian blue is nothing more than iron supersaturated with 
phlogiston.” Now this body, phlogiston, with which we shall have 
soon to deal, seems to have played the part with the early chem- 
ists that malaria now does with the doctors:-any fact a chemist 
could not explain was smoothed over by ascribing it to phlo- 
giston—very much as mauy physicians nowadays cover up their 
defects of knowledge by classing whatever they cannot explain 
as malaria. 7 
Sclieele was the first to give a true explanation, which was pub- 
lished in the Transactions of the Stockholm Academy for 1782 
and 1783. He observed that Prussian alkali after its exposure to 
the air lost its power of producing Prussian blue, and in order to 
discover what had become of it, placed a piece in a tightly-corked 
glass globe and allowed it to remain for several days, when upon 
testing it he found that no change had occurred. Accordingly 
he conceived the idea that something present in the air caused 
the decomposition, and came to the conclusion that it was the 
fixed air (COa). To determine this, he filled a globe with this gas, 
and placed a small piece of the alkali at the bottom, and allowed 
it to remain closed for twenty-four hours. Upon examining the 
salt at the end of that time he found it had lost its property as 
before. He repeated this experiment, but attached to the cork a 
slip of paper, which had been first dipped in a solution of sul- 
phate of iron and afterwards in an alkaline solution to precipi- 
tate the iron. At the end of two hours he took out the cork, and 
moistened the slip with a drop of muriatic acid, and to his de- 
light obtained a fine blue color. A modification of this test, 
known to day as Scheele’s test, is one of the most decisive we have 
for detecting hydrocyanic acid. Sclieele next found that other 
acids would separate the coloring principle, as he then called it; 
and not satisfied with this knowledge, he determined to discover 
its composition, and for this purpose boiled Prussian blue with 
oxide of mercury and water uutil the blue color disappeared; 
then he filtered the solution, and added some iron filings and sul- 
phuric acid, when the iron was completely dissolved and the 
mercury precipitated. To this solution consisting of the coloring 
principle and sulphate of iron he added some more sulphuric acid, 
and subjected the whole mixture to distillation, and obtained 
the coloring principle, as a thin, strongly smelling liquid, with 
the nature of which he was still unacquainted, which to further 
purify he redistilled over carbonate of lime. Still in the dark as 
to its origin, he sought further to find out its composition. To 
accomplish this he mixed some charcoal and potash in a crucible 
and kept the mixture at a red heat for some time; then he added 
a small quantity of sal-ammoniac, and continued the heat until 
all odor of ammonia was gone; when cold he dissolved the salt 
in water and obtained all the reactions of prussic acid, and from 
this concluded that it was a mixture of charcoal and ammonia, 8 
but from want of proper apparatus could not tell what propor- 
tions, and it remained for Berthollet to prove that, while it con- 
tained the same elements as charcoal and ammonia,—that is, car- 
bon, nitrogen, and hydrogen,—they occurred in different propor- 
tions, and he showed the formula to be HCN. This example, 
which I have given at length to show how much Sclieele was in 
advance of his time, exhibits his power of research in a striking 
degree, and calls forth both admiration and wonder. While 
Scheele’s fame rests upon his many discoveries, it will be neces- 
sary, in order to more properly appreciate his work, to glance at 
the theories that existed prior to and during his day. Chemistry 
did not begin to assume its position as a science until the time of 
Becher, about the middle of the seventeenth century; and it is 
only with the researches of Lavoisier, whose way Scheele pre- 
pared, that chemistry emerged from the mystery that had 
shrouded it. Prior to Becher, chemistry was in the hands of the 
alchemists, a body of men who, seeking rather to deceive than to 
instruct, endeavored to give the impression that they conversed 
with spirits, from whom they had learned the secret of how to 
indefinitely prolong life, and the power of transmuting all baser 
metals into gold. With the advent of more scientific methods the 
power of the alchemists dwindled away. Becher was the first 
to outline a theory of combustion, which was afterwards de- 
veloped by his disciple Stahl into the Phlogiston theory, which 
was universally accepted by scientific men throughout the world 
until it was finally overthrown by Lavoisier. To show how 
firmly this theory had taken root, I quote from a chemistry pub- 
lished in London in 1788,* two years after Scheele’s death, the 
following statement: “A modern sect of French philosophers, 
called Antiphlogistians, have endeavored to blow up this firs 
pillar of chemical theory; but in vain: it stands upon the firm 
basis of demonstration, and it will stand forever.” In this same 
volume the four physical elements are described with their 
appropriate symbols as fire, air, |earth, -water, yet the preface 
contains this remarkable statement: “From the preceding part 
of this preface it must appear that chemistry is an entire new 
science; that all old books are useless, and that many of those of 
no very ancient date must be defective and erroneous.” 
* First Lines of the Theory and Practice of Philosophical Chemistry. By 
John Berkenhout, M.D. London, 1788. ; 9 
In the year 1767 a series of experiments were instituted at the 
Paris Academy in order to prove that the elements were inter- 
changeable, and more particularly that water could be converted 
into earth. You all no doubt remember the old story of how the 
earth that collected in the retort after repeated distillation was 
deemed conclusive evidence, until Scheele analyzed the deposit, 
and found it to consist of the same elements as the glass, and 
suggested that it might be derived from that source; and Lavoisier, 
following his footsteps, with the aid of the balance proved that 
while the water did not change, the retort lost in weight, and the 
loss just equalled the amount of the deposit. Thus this theory 
was overthrown. 
Scheele did not believe that because two pieces of ore were ob- 
tained in the same locality that they must of necessity have the 
same composition. 
Fire in olden times was regarded as a certain elementary body 
capable of devouring all combustibles and converting them into 
itself. They said, if you bring a small quantity of this substance 
—fire—to a grate full of charcoal or other combustible it imm 
ately begins to devour it, and whatever part is unfit for food is 
left behind in the form of ashes. 
Becker’s,. theory of combustion explained that process by 
stating that all metals were composed of an earthy substance 
common to all, and a combustible principle also common to all, 
while they differed from one another by a peculiar mercurial 
element; and that when a metal was heated so that it changed its 
form, the mercurial and combustible elements left it, and nothing 
remained but metallic calx. 
Stahl’s theory, wdiicli is simply an enlargement of Beclier’s, 
taught that all combustibles contained a combustible principle 
known as phlogiston, to which their combustibility was due. 
This principle was the same in all bodies, which differed from 
one another on account of other substances which they con- 
tained. Combustion depended upon this substance, and when it 
left a body, the remainder was incombustible. 
Mayow pointed out that metals when calcined increased in 
weight; and the followers of the phlogiston theory endeavored to 
explain this fact by stating that as phlogiston is in itself the cause 
of gravity, it would be absurd to suppose that it possessed that 
property, but rather to be endowed with the power of levity; and 10 
hence when phlogiston leaves a body it is not buoyed up as much 
as before, and consequently heavier. These ideas, crude as they 
seem, were a great stride towards the founding of a system by 
which events might be systematically studied. 
In other sciences thought was not much further advanced. 
Linnaeus, the great botanist, a countryman and contemporary of 
Scheele, in his “ System of Nature,” after outlining the formation 
of the earth, describes the ocean as follows: 
“The water of the ocean, frigid, passive, concipient, every- 
where fecundated a dry, calescent, active generating air, is 
observed teeming with a double offspring—a saline male, solu- 
ble, acrid, clear, and crystalline; a terrene female, fixed, viscid, 
opaque, attractorialand describes the following substances as 
occurring in sea-water: 
“Muria, which is marine, and which by corrosion attracts 
clay; Natrum, which is animal, and which by refridation 
coagulates calx; Nitre, which is aerial, and which by obduction 
augments sand; Alum, which is vegetable, and which by ramifi- 
cation cements soil.” “ These are the fathers of the stones.” 
Again he describes four kinds of earth: “Clay, the earth of 
marine water; sand, the earth of rain-water; soil, the earth of 
vegetables; calx, the earth of animals;” and adds, “These are the 
mothers of the stones.” 
Now as Scheele lived in the latter part of the eighteenth century, 
during a time when the phlogiston theory was the accepted 
explanation of a great many phenomena, much of his writings 
bear the mark of this relic of ignorance, and shows to what 
straits chemists were reduced in order to make facts agree 
with this, as it seems to us now, ridiculous theory; and this 
brings us to Scheele’s most important discovery—that of oxygen, 
the honor of which he shares with Priestley; and although there 
seems to be some doubt as regards dates, yet, as Lowell says, 
“ Biography now holds dates cheaper and facts dearer” than it 
formerly did; and although, as I say, there seems to be some 
doubt as regards the dates, yet the fact that each discovered 
oxygen independently of the other is beyond question, Priestley 
calling it “ dephlogisticated air,” and Scheele “empyreal air,” 
each working with different substances. Priestley obtained his 
gas while heating red precipitate, and Scheele his by the same 
method from black oxide of manganese. 11 
It will be interesting to state here, that about one hundred 
years before this discovery, Dr. Hooke pointed out that there 
existed in air a certain body similar if not identical to that con- 
tained in saltpetre, though he says there exists in saltpetre a 
much larger quantity than is contained in a given bulk of air. 
This body possesses the property of dissolving all combustibles* 
but only when the temperature is considerably raised; and 
Mayow ten years later advanced this same opinion without 
giving Dr. Hooke any credit, and called this body “ spiritus 
nitro aereus.” 
In a treatise upon air and fire, contributed to the Stockholm 
Academy, Scheele, after a vast number of experiments, con- 
ducted with great skill, proved that the atmosphere was com- 
posed of two elastic fluids: one of these he called “fire-air and the 
other “ vitiated air.” He proved their presence in many ways: one 
method was to absorb out the fire air: this he did by means of a 
solution of liver of sulphur, or a mixture of iron filings and sul- 
phur moistened with water. He found the relations of these gases 
always uniform, and recognized that fire-air was the same as the 
gas obtained from heating saltpetre, or from black oxide man- 
ganese. 
This research is a masterpiece of work, but on account of the 
prevalent ideas he was led to wrong conclusions in regard to many 
of the phenomena. Had his life not been cut short at such an 
early age, he would, as was characteristic of him, have followed 
up his experiments until he obtained the truth. He was one of the 
first to doubt the phlogiston theory, but had no means of confirm- 
ing his doubts. He says in this same essay, “lam disposed to 
believe that all acids owe their existence to fire-air”—an opinion, 
although erroneous, which was shared by Lavoisier. Through lack 
of proper apparatus he was not able to attach the importance to 
the combination of hydrogen and oxygen that it deserved. Scheele 
mixed H and O in a glass globe over water, and passed a spark 
through the mixture, when the gases united with a sharp report 
and the water rose until it completely filled the jar. Heat was gene 
rated, or, as it was called then, caloric, and as this was considered 
a property of phlogiston, Scheele thought that by union of H and 
O caloric was produced; and it remained for Cavendish to prove, 
by conducting this experiment in dry vessels, that not only was 
heat produced, but a second and more important result was 12 
obtained, which led to the discovery of the composition of 
water. Scheele pointed out the power light possessed of de- 
composing certain salts, and showed that the violet ray was the 
most active and the red the least, but supposed that the difference 
was owing to different quantities of phlogiston with which the 
rays were combined, the violet containing the most and the red 
the least. 
Another important investigation of Scheele’s was in connection 
with manganese, and while engaged upon this body he discovered 
chlorine and barium, and in the latter body recognized a reagent 
for sulphuric acid. Mayow had endeavored to prove that phlogis- 
ton was identical with hydrogen, and Scheele accepted this view, 
and called the gas he obtained by action of muriatic acid on black 
oxide manganese “ dephlogisticated muriatic acid.” He studied its 
qualities, but found it contained no O; yet many chemists believed 
that it was a compound of O, and called it oxygen muriatic-acid, 
which was contracted afterwards by Kinvan to oxy-muriatic acid, 
and finally changed to chlorine by Sir H. Davy, who proved that 
it contained no O, and confirmed the ideas of Scheele. 
He discovered a new element in fluor-spar, and was the first to 
make hydrofluoric acid, but was unable to obtain it pure, as it at- 
tacked the glass and dissolved the silica; and here again others with 
superior appai’atus received the credit that should have been his. 
An anecdote in relation to alum will show how conversant he was 
with analytical methods. Baum supposed that when fluor-spar was 
melted with potash, and the mixture treated with sulphuric acid, 
that he could obtain alum. He accordingly mixed these two bodies, 
placed them in a crucible, and heated them, and after removing 
from the fire when the mixture had cooled, he treated the mass with 
sulphuric acid, and evaporated the solution, and obtained alum 
in crystals, which was deemed conclusive enough, until Scheele 
showed that the alum was derived from the crucible in which the 
experiment had been conducted. He discovered wolframic and 
molybdic acids, and proved the difference between molybdena 
and plumbago, with which it had previously been confounded. 
He discovered the nature of plumbago, by finding that it was en- 
tirely consumed when thrown upon melting saltpetre; he also first 
gave the hint that afterward led to the discovery of the composi- 
tion of steel. 
His experiments with arsenic, whereby he discovered arsenic 13 
acid and arseniuretted hydrogen, are very interesting; but there 
is so mucli work that I can but briefly outline it. Arseniuretted 
hydrogen he discovered accidentally, yet with his accustomed 
ability followed up the discovery until he had learned all he could 
about it; he found that it was combustible, and deposited arseni- 
cum when burnt. It is to this important discovery that the so- 
called Marsh’s test, which should he called Scheele’s test, depends. 
He was not only aware that he could generate the gas from metal 
and an acid to which he had added some arsenic, but also that 
all metals contaminated with arsenic gave the same results. 
He contributed very much to the knowledge of ether, and made 
a great many organic ethers, which have no other value than to 
illustrate the range of his experiments, among which the may 
be mentioned, oxalic, citric, tartaric, and benzoic ether. He also 
proposed the method for making acetic ether which is in use 
to-day. 
He proved the similarity between calomel prepared by sublima- 
tum and that by precipitation, and was one of the first to early 
study and describe the properties of albumen. 
Scheele lived a quiet, peaceful life, happy in his work, and to 
within a year of his death was simply an assistant. In 1775 he 
went from Upsala to KOpping, to take charge of a pharmacy, the 
proprietor of which had recently died; and here he seems to have 
conducted the business so well that he won the good graces of the 
widow, and married her two years later; here he remained until 
his death, which occurred in 1786. 
When we look back at the amount of work Scheele contrived 
to do while attending to his regular duties, we ask ourselves with 
wonder how he found time for all this; yet he is but another ex- 
ample of the earnest worker, who, withoutjeducation or means, 
but by perseverance and energy, “ finds a way, or makes one.” 
This paper is offered as a tribute to the memory of a man who, 
while his name will always be connected with the most brilliant 
chemical discoveries, will also be known as the “Gothenburg 
Apothecary;” and the writer hopes that some one with more 
ability than he possesses will follow these footsteps, and show us 
more of this genius, and stimulate young pharmacists of to-day, 
by showing what may be done under obstacles. Poor, unaided, 
without station, Scheele won for himself a veiy dear place in the 
hearts of all men of science; and it is eminently proper that we 14 
honor him now, inasmuch as he received so little during his life. 
All the sciences owe much to pharmacy, and it in turn is deeply 
indebted to them; yet if every college where chemistry is taught 
would endow one free scholarship to any struggling pharmacist 
who chose to take advantage of the opportunity, it would be no 
more than is due to the memory of this Swedish apothecary, 
Carl Wilhelm Scheele. THE 
Pharmaceutical Record, 
PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY 
AT O INTEL! DOLLAR PER YEAR, 
Will be found to be the Best and most Valuable _ 
PAPER EOR PHARMACISTS. 
Attractive in Contents, and Reliable in its Information, 
P. W. BEDFORD, Editor and Publisher, 
P. O. Box, 1807. 36 Seek in an Street, New York City.