Berzelius

Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779–1848) was a Swedish chemist widely regarded as one of the founders of modern chemistry. Born in Linköping, he studied medicine and chemistry at Uppsala University and spent much of his career in Stockholm, where he served as a professor of chemistry. Berzelius made foundational contributions to inorganic chemistry, electrochemistry, and chemical notation, and he helped establish reliable methods for determining atomic weights.

Among his notable achievements, he and his colleague Wilhelm Hisinger are credited with the discovery of the elements cerium and silicon. He also isolated silicon in 1824, proving its existence as an element. Berzelius also advanced the use of electrical current in chemical investigations, contributing to early electrochemistry studies, and he introduced the modern system of chemical symbols for elements, using one- or two-letter abbreviations such as H for hydrogen and Na for sodium. He organized chemical formulas and reactions on a quantitative basis and proposed a decimal scale for atomic weights (gram-atomic weights) based on oxygen as a reference.

Berzelius' work influenced the development of chemical nomenclature and quantitative chemistry. He remained active in research until his death in 1848. His legacy lies in establishing a rigorous framework for chemical notation, measurement, and reasoning that underpins modern chemistry.