As a chemistry professor, Wallerius needed a laboratory. Initially, he wanted a
building in the city centre, close to the observatory and the botanical garden [21],
but a building site was finally bought at Västra Ågatan,
4 close to the river, in 1751.
The location was not ideal, as it was in the periphery of Uppsala and frequently
flooded by the river in spring. The laboratory was inaugurated in 1752 or 1754 [22].
Wallerius had planned a two-storey building but only one floor was built during his
time as a professor (Fig. 9.5). To the left of the entrance hall was Wallerius private
apartment, and to the right were two laboratories, one larger for public demonstrations and one smaller for private lessons.
In 1761, chairs in chemistry were established in Lund and Åbo (Finland
remained a Swedish province until 1809), but hardly any chemical research was
performed there during Scheele’s and Bergman’s lifetimes. The professor in Lund,
Christian Wollin (1731–1798), was a former student of Wallerius but had little
interest in chemistry. In 1775, he became a professor of medicine and it was not
until 1812 that the professorship in chemistry in Lund was re-established. The
professor in Åbo, Per Adrian Gadd (1727–1797), was also a professor of economy,
and his main interest was in agriculture and he did not conduct any significant
original research in chemistry. Gadd visited Bergman in Uppsala in 1772, as
mentioned in a letter to Gahn [23]. It must have been a short meeting since
Bergman had to leave to Mariestad the following day to take care of his mother.
Gadd was succeeded by Bergman’s student Gadolin in 1789.
In 1759, Wallerius published the first part of his textbook Chemia Physica,
which (despite its Latin title) was the first textbook on chemistry in Swedish (the
first chemistry book in Swedish being published by Hiärne in 1706). In addition, a
steady flow of chemical dissertations was being defended by his students and
chemical papers by his hand appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences. Wallerius also published some of the unpublished works of
Hiärne. Wallerius is not remembered for any chemical discoveries, but as an author
who gained international recognition and his books were translated to Latin and
German. The fact that he did not make any important discoveries was not because
he was a poor chemist, but rather because he belonged to the old school of professors who saw as their main task to study literature rather than performing new
experiments. It had long been believed that the world was a message from God, a
message that could be read—and was intended for us to read—by observing nature
[24]. Wallerius fiercely objected to anything contradicting this view. This does not
mean that he did not perform experiments at all; he claimed to have worked in his
laboratory every day for over 30 years [25]. Although he hardly made any impact
on the history of chemistry, he was very important for chemistry in Sweden, as he
built up a chemical institution and developed chemistry as an academic discipline in
contrast to the practical chemistry carried out at the Board of Mines in Stockholm.
Wallerius wanted his laboratory placed under the Medical Faculty, but after
4
Known as Westra Strandgatan at the time.
116
9 Bergman Becomes a Chemist
building in the city centre, close to the observatory and the botanical garden [21],
but a building site was finally bought at Västra Ågatan,
4 close to the river, in 1751.
The location was not ideal, as it was in the periphery of Uppsala and frequently
flooded by the river in spring. The laboratory was inaugurated in 1752 or 1754 [22].
Wallerius had planned a two-storey building but only one floor was built during his
time as a professor (Fig. 9.5). To the left of the entrance hall was Wallerius private
apartment, and to the right were two laboratories, one larger for public demonstrations and one smaller for private lessons.
In 1761, chairs in chemistry were established in Lund and Åbo (Finland
remained a Swedish province until 1809), but hardly any chemical research was
performed there during Scheele’s and Bergman’s lifetimes. The professor in Lund,
Christian Wollin (1731–1798), was a former student of Wallerius but had little
interest in chemistry. In 1775, he became a professor of medicine and it was not
until 1812 that the professorship in chemistry in Lund was re-established. The
professor in Åbo, Per Adrian Gadd (1727–1797), was also a professor of economy,
and his main interest was in agriculture and he did not conduct any significant
original research in chemistry. Gadd visited Bergman in Uppsala in 1772, as
mentioned in a letter to Gahn [23]. It must have been a short meeting since
Bergman had to leave to Mariestad the following day to take care of his mother.
Gadd was succeeded by Bergman’s student Gadolin in 1789.
In 1759, Wallerius published the first part of his textbook Chemia Physica,
which (despite its Latin title) was the first textbook on chemistry in Swedish (the
first chemistry book in Swedish being published by Hiärne in 1706). In addition, a
steady flow of chemical dissertations was being defended by his students and
chemical papers by his hand appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences. Wallerius also published some of the unpublished works of
Hiärne. Wallerius is not remembered for any chemical discoveries, but as an author
who gained international recognition and his books were translated to Latin and
German. The fact that he did not make any important discoveries was not because
he was a poor chemist, but rather because he belonged to the old school of professors who saw as their main task to study literature rather than performing new
experiments. It had long been believed that the world was a message from God, a
message that could be read—and was intended for us to read—by observing nature
[24]. Wallerius fiercely objected to anything contradicting this view. This does not
mean that he did not perform experiments at all; he claimed to have worked in his
laboratory every day for over 30 years [25]. Although he hardly made any impact
on the history of chemistry, he was very important for chemistry in Sweden, as he
built up a chemical institution and developed chemistry as an academic discipline in
contrast to the practical chemistry carried out at the Board of Mines in Stockholm.
Wallerius wanted his laboratory placed under the Medical Faculty, but after
4
Known as Westra Strandgatan at the time.
116
9 Bergman Becomes a Chemist