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Uses aberation of starlight to determine the speed of light to within 5% accuracy.
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Discovered oxygen, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide. Proposed electrical inverse-square law (1767).
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Discovered chlorine, tartaric acid, metal oxidation, and sensitivity of silver compounds to light (photochemistry). -
Invented process for making soda ash from sodium sulfate, limestone, and coal.
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Discovered nitrogen. Described the composition of many organic compounds. Sometimes regarded as the Father of Chemistry. -
Invented the electric battery. -
Corrected Lavoiser’s theory of acids. Discovered bleaching ability of chlorine. Analyzed combining weights of atoms (stoichiometry).
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Development of smallpox vaccine (1776).
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Proposed atomic theory based on measurable masses (1807). Stated law of partial pressure of gasses.
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Proposed principle that equal volumes of gasses contain the same number of molecules.
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Laid foundation of electrochemistry. Studied electrolysis of salts in water. Isolated sodium and potassium.
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Discovered boron and iodine. Discovered acid-base indicators (litmus). Improved method for making sulfuric acid. Researched behavior of gasses.
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Classified minerals according to their chemical composition. Discovered and isolated many elements (Se, Th, Si, Ti, Zr). Coined the terms 'isomer' and 'catalyst'.
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Coined term 'electrolysis'. Developed theories of electrical and mechanical energy, corrosion, batteries, and electrometallurgy. Faraday was not a proponent of atomism.
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Introduced the inverse-square law of electrostatics.
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Thought that heat was a form of energy.
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The 1800s saw the synthesis of the first organic compound, vulcanization of rubber, the invention of dynamite, the creation of the Periodic Table, the pasteurization of milk and wine, and even the invention of a new way of manufacturing aluminum, among other developments.
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First synthesis of an organic compound (urea, 1828).
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Discovered vulcanization of rubber (1844). Hancock in England made a parallel discovery.
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Demonstrated the wave nature of light and the principle of interference.
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Investigated photosynthesis reaction and soil chemistry. First proposed the use of fertilizers. Discovered chloroform and cyanogen compounds.
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Observed that a current in a wire can deflect a compass needle - provided first concrete evidence of the connection between electricity and magnetism.
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Studied diffusion of solutions through membranes. Established foundations of colloid chemistry.
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First recognition of bacteria as disease-causing agents. Developed field of immunochemistry. Introduced heat-sterilization of wine and milk (pasteurization). Saw optical isomers (enantiomers) in tartaric acid.
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Invented the electromagnet.
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Analyzed heat engines.
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Stated law of electrical resistance.
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Discovered Brownian motion.
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Initiated use of antiseptics in surgery, e.g., phenols, carbolic acid, cresols.
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Father of aromatic chemistry. Realized four-valent carbon and structure of benzene ring. Predicted isomeric substitutions (ortho-, meta-, para-).
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Invented dynamite, smokeless powder, and blasting gelatin. Established international awards for achievements in chemistry, physics, and medicine (Nobel Prize).
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Discovered periodicity of the elements. Compiled the first Periodic Table with elements arranged into 7 groups (1869).
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Invented the plastic Celluloid (nitrocellulose modified using camphor)(1869).
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Synthesized first organic dye (mauveine, 1856) and first synthetic perfume (coumarin).
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Compiled Handbuchder organischen Chemie, a compendium of the properties and reactions of organics.
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Described the absolute zero point of temperature.
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Stated three principal laws of thermodynamics. Described the nature of entropy and established a relation between chemical, electric, and thermal energy.
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Produced a synthetic fiber (nitrocellulose).
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Experimentally demonstrated that heat is a form of energy.
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Developed kinetic theory of gasses. Viscosity and diffusion properties are summarized in Boltzmann’s Law.
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Discovered x-radiation (1895). Nobel Prize in 1901.
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Published results from experiments showing that heat is a form of energy.
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Fundamental research on equilibrium reactions (Le Chatelier’s Law), combustion of gasses, and iron and steel metallurgy.
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Discovered radioactivity of uranium (1896) and deflection of electrons by magnetic fields and gamma rays. Nobel Prize in 1903 (with the Curies).
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Developed electric furnace for making carbides and purifying metals. Isolated fluorine (1886). Nobel Prize in 1906.
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Studied sugars, purines, ammonia, uric acid, enzymes, nitric acid. Pioneer research in sterochemistry. Nobel Prize in 1902.
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Research on cathode rays proved existence of electrons (1896). Nobel Prize in 1906.
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Built one of the first gas discharge tubes (cathode ray tubes).
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Described the mathematical distribution of the velocities of molecules of a gas.
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Svante Arrhenius (1859–1927)
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Learn the Major Events in Chemistry History with This Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2021, from https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-of-major-chemistry-events-602166 Landmarks Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2021, from https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/landmarks-timeline.html