Andreas Sigismund Marggraf

Andreas Sigismund Marggraf
Engraving of Marggraf, circa 1770
Born(1709-03-03)3 March 1709
Died7 August 1782(1782-08-07) (aged 73)
Berlin, Margraviate of Brandenburg
NationalityGerman
Known forIsolating zinc
Isolating glucose
Scientific career
Notable studentsFranz Karl Achard

Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (German: [ˈmaʀkɡʀaːf]; 3 March 1709 – 7 August 1782) was a German chemist from Berlin, then capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and a pioneer of analytical chemistry. He isolated zinc in 1746 by heating calamine and carbon.[1] Though he was not the first to do so, Marggraf is credited with carefully describing the process and establishing its basic theory. In 1747, Marggraf announced his discovery of sugar in beets and devised a method using alcohol to extract it.[2] His student Franz Achard later devised an economical industrial method to extract the sugar in its pure form.

  1. ^ Marggraf (1746) "Experiences sur la maniere de tirer le Zinc de sa veritable miniere, c’est à dire, de la pierre calaminaire" [Experiments on a way of extracting zinc from its true mineral; i.e., the stone calamine], Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences et Belles-Lettres de Berlin, pages 49-57.
  2. ^ Marggraf (1747) "Experiences chimiques faites dans le dessein de tirer un veritable sucre de diverses plantes, qui croissent dans nos contrées" [Chemical experiments made with the intention of extracting real sugar from diverse plants that grow in our lands], Histoire de l'académie royale des sciences et belles-lettres de Berlin, pages 79-90.