Michael Sendivogius | |
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| Born | 2 February 1566 |
| Died | 1636 (aged 69–70) |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Other names | Sędziwój, Sędzimir |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna, University of Altdorf, University of Leipzig, University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Alchemist, philosopher, writer, and medical doctor |
| Known for | The concept of central nitre |
Michael Sendivogius (/ˌsɛndɪˈvoʊdʒiəs/; Polish: Michał Sędziwój; 2 February 1566 – 1636) was a Polish alchemist, philosopher, and medical doctor. A pioneer of chemistry, he developed ways of purification and creation of various acids, metals and other chemical compounds. He discovered that air is not a single substance and contains a life-giving substance—later called oxygen—170 years before Scheele's discovery of the element. He correctly identified this "food of life" with the gas (also oxygen) given off by heating nitre (saltpetre).[1] This substance, the "central nitre", had a central position in Sendivogius' schema of the universe.[2]
- ^ "MICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS, ROSICRUCIAN, and FATHER OF STUDIES OF OXYGEN"
- ^ Allen G. Debus, Chemistry and Medical Debate: Van Helmont to Boerhaave, Science History Publication, 2001, p. 13 n. 19.