Richard Abegg

Richard Abegg
Born(1869-01-09)9 January 1869[1]
Danzig, Prussia, North German Confederation
(now Gdańsk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)
Died4 April 1910(1910-04-04) (aged 41)[2]
Köslin, German Empire
(now Koszalin, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)[1][3]
NationalityGerman
Alma materUniversity of Kiel
University of Tübingen
University of Berlin
Known forAbegg's rule
Scientific career
FieldsChemist
InstitutionsUniversity of Göttingen
University of Stockholm
University of Breslau
Doctoral advisorAugust Wilhelm von Hofmann
Doctoral studentsClara Immerwahr
Signature

Richard Wilhelm Heinrich Abegg (9 January 1869 – 3 April 1910) was a German chemist[4] and pioneer of valence theory. He proposed that the difference of the maximum positive and negative valence of an element tends to be eight. This has come to be known as Abegg's rule. He was a gas balloon enthusiast, which caused his death at the age of 41 when he crashed in his balloon in Silesia.

Abegg received his PhD on 19 July 1891 as the student of August Wilhelm von Hofmann at the University of Berlin. Abegg learned organic chemistry from Hofmann, but one year after finishing his PhD degree he began researching physical chemistry while studying with Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald in Leipzig, Germany. Abegg later served as private assistant to Walther Nernst at the University of Göttingen and to Svante Arrhenius at the University of Stockholm.

Abegg discovered the theory of freezing-point depression and anticipated Gilbert Newton Lewis's octet rule by revealing that the lowest and highest oxidation states of elements often differ by eight. He researched many topics in physical chemistry, including freezing points, the dielectric constant of ice, osmotic pressures, oxidation potentials, and complex ions.[5]

  1. ^ a b Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abegg, Richard Wilhelm Heinrich". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. pp. 24. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nature_obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Debus, Allen G., ed. (1968). World Who's Who in Science. Hannibal, MO: Western Publishing Company. p. 3. ISBN 0-8379-1001-3.
  4. ^ Thorne, J. O.; Collocott, T. C. (1984). Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Chambers. p. 3. ISBN 0-5501-8022-2.
  5. ^ "Abegg, Richard Wilhelm Heinrich". Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010.