Carl Wilhelm Scheele

Abstract

Carl Wilhelm Scheele was born in Stralsund, Swedish Pomerania, on December 19, 1742 and died in Köping, Sweden, on May 21, 1786. He was the seventh of eleven children (six boys and five girls) of Jochim Christian Scheele, a brewer and later broker, and Margaretha Eleonora Warnekros. Like his oldest brother, Johan Martin (1734-1754), Carl became interested on pharmacy at an early age and chose it as his career. It is said that while still a boy he was taught by two friends of the family in Stralsund, a physician named Schutte and a pharmacist named Cornelius. After finishing school, which did not include a Gymnasium course, Scheele went to Göteborg in 1757, at the of age 14, to began his training with Martin Anders Bauch, the owner of the pharmacy at the Unicorn in Gothenburg, taking the place of his brother Johan Martin, who had died of typhoid two years before. The stock of chemicals present in the pharmacy afforded Scheele with a starting point for many investigations and discoveries. His master promptly recognized the unusual abilities of his apprentice and encouraged him by putting at his disposal the necessary chemicals and equipment, as well as allowing him to use his wellequipped library. Three of the most famous chemical handbooks of the time, Johann Kunckel’s