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Table of Contents
Georg Brandt was a Swedish mineralogist and chemist who was the first named person to discover a new metal. He was also one of first the scientists to condemn alchemy.
See the fact file below for more information on the Georg Brandt or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Georg Brandt worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
EARLY LIFE
- Georg Brandt was born on June 26, 1694, in the small town of Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
- His father was a pharmacy and mine owner. His mother came from a family of timber mill owners.
- Georg had two siblings.
- Chemistry was still relatively new when Georg was born. Robert Boyle, who was largely responsible for the formulation of the science of chemistry, died three years before Brandt’s birth.
- Brandt’s father was interested in chemicals and metals. Four years before Georg’s birth, he bought a copper smelter.
- During his childhood, his father operated copper mines, the copper smelter, and an ironworks. This exposed him to an environment where ores, metals, chemicals, and minerals were important.
- Georg was given chemistry lessons by his father. He was well educated in chemistry from both a mineral and pharmaceutical perspective.
- In 1705, Brandt began studying at the University of Uppsala.
CAREER
- At age 20, Brandt started working at the Bureau of Mines, being taught by Anders Gabriel Duhre, a highly respected mathematician.
- In 1718, Georg edited Duhre’s mathematics lectures for publication.
- He wrote a rather long preface to the publication where he discussed chemistry.
- Brandt was mainly influenced by Isaac Newton to discuss chemistry in a more mathematical manner.
- Georg believed that chemistry was an imperfect science with no proper foundation.
- He stated that chemistry, at his time, was mostly built upon the works of pretenders furthering their ambitions.
- Brandt believed that there should be axioms upon which to build solid theoretical foundations for chemistry.
- Georg, however, was not able to develop these axioms himself. His future work in the field was established upon scientific principles.
- In 1721, the Bureau of Mines awarded Brandt a travel grant intended for researching other European countries’ mines.
- He instead used the grant, with finances from his father, to enroll at the University of Leiden and study physics and chemistry.
- Georg attended chemistry classes with Herman Boerhaave, a Dutch physician. Boerhaave taught non-mystical and thoroughly practical chemistry which Brandt admired.
- He moved to the University of Reims after three years in Leiden. In 1726, he received his doctorate in medicine.
- Brandt’s deception was forgiven by the Bureau of Mines and he later took over the Stockholm laboratories in 1727.
- In 1730, he became Guardian of the Mint, giving him better laboratory facilities.
- His duties involved determining the composition of minerals and checking the purity of metals.
- Georg published reports on the materials he worked with, including mercury and gold in 1731.
- Brandt also did a groundbreaking study on arsenic alloys and compounds.
- In 1735, Georg wrote in his Dissertatio de Semi-Metallis about his discovery of a new element he called cobalt, which he described as semi-metal.
- Brandt discovered cobalt in an ore which was called kobold by German miners.
- Cobalt came from the German word “kobold”, which means goblin.
- Brandt’s discovery was only made known to most scientists when his Dissertatio de Semi-Metallis was published in 1739.
- Georg’s cobalt was the first metallic element discovery that had been credited to a known person.
- During his time, only a few elements had been known, making his announcement controversial.
- Gold, copper, lead, iron, silver, tin, and mercury were the metals known by ancients. “Semi-metals” antimony, zinc, bismuth, and arsenic were also identified.
- Brandt disproved the belief that the blue pigment in glass was caused by a bismuth-based mineral. He demonstrated the evident differences in the behavior of bismuth and cobalt.
- In 1742, Georg was able to isolate metallic cobalt and noted that cobalt is ferromagnetic and can form alloys with antimony, copper, iron, gold, and tin.
- Brandt had private notes where he kept literature on alchemy not because he believed in alchemy, but as a reference for the experimental techniques that alchemists had developed.
- In 1748, Georg appeared before the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to present to them how alchemists had tricked unsuspecting donors that they could create gold.
- Brandt did this by dissolving gold in nitric acid with a probable excess of sulfuric acid. He then poured silver into the solution, which made gold precipitate.
- This made his audience realize that if they had witnessed only the second part, they could have believed that Georg turned silver into gold.
PERSONAL LIFE AND DEATH
- At age 40, Georg married 20-year-old Anna Maria Norn, daughter of a merchant.
- In 1735, Georg and Anna had Catharina Elisabet.
- Brandt was a man of few words and enjoyed his own company quite a lot.
- He taught chemistry at the Bureau of Mines but never became a university professor.
- Brandt was regarded as one of the greatest scientists in Sweden in his later years.
- He was also elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- King Frederick of Sweden referred to Georg as an honest man due to his reputation for straightforward dealings.
- On April 29, 1768, Brandt died of prostate cancer at the age of 73.
Georg Brandt Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Georg Brandt across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Georg Brandt worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Georg Brandt who was a Swedish mineralogist and chemist who was the first named person to discover a new metal. He was also one of first the scientists to condemn alchemy.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Brandt’s Data
- Tricksperiment
- In the Name
- Words to Learn
- Metallic Colors
- Element 27
- Scientist’s Element
- Brandt’s Ways
- One from the Other
- Chemical Quote
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