Anastasios Christomanos

Anastasios Christomanos
Born(1841-03-22)March 22, 1841
Vienna, Austrian Empire
DiedOctober 2, 1906(1906-10-02) (aged 65)
Athens, Greece
Alma materTechnical University of Vienna
University of Giessen
University of Heidelberg
Scientific career
FieldsInorganic Chemistry,
Archaeometry,
Analytical Chemistry,
Organic Chemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Athens
Academic advisorsRobert Bunsen,
Georg Ludwig Carius,
Emil Erlenmeyer
Gustav Kirchhoff
Notable studentsAnastasios Damvergis

Anastasios Christomanos (Greek: Ἀναστάσιος Χρηστομάνος, 1841 - 1906) was one of the most important Greek scientists of the later part of the 19th century. His academic collaborators were some of the most important scientists in the world, including Robert Bunsen, Georg Ludwig Carius, Emil Erlenmeyer and Gustav Kirchhoff. He is the father of modern Greek chemical education. He wrote 73 books and dissertations. His fields of study included: Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Analytical Chemistry. He helped restructure Greek education. Greek education was in the grasp of Korydalism for over 300 years. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, Christomanos and his contemporaries were pioneers of modern education all over the world.[1][2][3]

Christomanos was born in Vienna to a family that migrated from what is now Bulgaria. They were an important aristocratic Greek family, claiming roots in the Byzantine Empire. He showed an interest in science from an early age and was in Germany during the age of scientific revolution and discovery. He eventually became affiliated with the lab of Robert Bunsen. Bunsen was recruiting countless scientists to assist in his academic research. Christomanos was involved with Bunsen and his associates. He also worked at different chemical institutions. Around this period, Kirchhoff and Bunsen invented the spectroscope. Kirchhoff used the instrument to pioneer the identification of the elements in the Sun. In 1859, he showed that the Sun contained sodium. Kirchhoff and Bunsen discovered caesium and rubidium in 1861. In 1866, Christomanos brought the spectroscope to Greece and used the instrument on the island of Santorini to research the volcanic eruption of the Santorini caldera in 1866.[4][5]

Christomanos continued to restructure the chemistry department at the University. He brought instrumentation from all over the world. With the onset of new research, the field of study became more popular towards the end of the 19th century. He implemented German educational standards. He brought famous scientist Hans Max Jahn to the University of Athens. Christomanos' most important scientific work was the determination of the specific gravity of silver, methods for the determination of alkali metals, artificial biphenyl synthesis and the composition of chromite ores in Greece.[6][2][7]

  1. ^ Eugenia Drakopoulou (March 5, 2021). "Christomanos Anastasios". Institute for Neohellenic Research. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Tampakis 2021, pp. 1–10.
  3. ^ Stefanidis 1952, pp. 12–14.
  4. ^ Tampakis, Costas (2013). Sciences and religion: Their interaction in the borders of Europe (1832-1915) (PDF). Athens: Colloque International, Europe et Sciences Modernes, Histoire d’un Engendrement Mutuel, Nantes, 21-22/2/2013. pp. 5–6.
  5. ^ I. Kandilis (March 5, 2022). "Anastasios Christomanos". University of Athens Laboratory of Physical Chemistry. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  6. ^ Wright, David & Vlahakis, George (2006). Imperialism and Science: Social Impact and Interaction. Oxford, UK: ABC-CLIO. pp. 285–286. ISBN 1-85109-673-6.
  7. ^ "The Death of Professor Anastasios Christomanos Biographical Notes The Professor and His Work" [Ο ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΑΘΗΓΗΤΟΥ ΧΡΗΣΤΟΜΑΝΟΥ ΒΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΑΙ ΣΗΜΕΙΩΣΕΙΣ Ο ΚΑΘΗΓΗΤΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΟ ΕΡΓΟΝ]. Empros, Volume Gamma, No. 3576. Athens, Greece: Empros. 3 October 1906. p. 2, col. 6. Retrieved 7 September 2023.