Preface
In order to really understand Scheele, one has to be an experimental chemist. If one
can read about a chemical substance, without feeling an irresistible desire to explore
its properties in the laboratory, one can never fully understand Scheele’s motivations and driving forces. Just like Scheele, I came across out-dated chemistry books
as a boy. I had many magic moments when I managed to get hold of the chemicals
and equipment needed to repeat the experiments form these books. Next, I learned
to design my own simple experiments and to predict their outcome and finally,
many years later, I was in the position to perform experiments not previously
described in the literature. Thus, I was introduced to chemistry in a similar fashion
as Scheele and I believe I am in a good position to understand him. Unfortunately,
the image of Scheele in the literature is quite often misleading, as authors have tried
to fit Scheele into contexts where he does not properly belong. In the late nineteenth
century, for instance, Scheele was turned into a national hero. To be a hero implies
that someone makes a large sacrifice or takes risks without personal benefits. That
would be a false picture of Scheele. Scheele was an outsider in the scientific
community; he did not have a plan for a brilliant career, but was completely
satisfied as long as he had free access to a laboratory.
Bergman is easier to grasp as a person since he shares many features with
modern successful scientists. He was very good at selling his ideas, excellent at
securing support from the right people, and a master in presenting his results. If he
lived today, he would probably have been very successful in writing proposals for
research grants. Unlike Scheele, he carefully planned the steps in his career. The
study of Bergman still presents some problem: while all of Scheele’s work is in the
field of chemistry, Bergman’s work ranges from celestial bodies to atoms, from
caterpillars to volcanoes. No modern scientist can cover such a wide field. As a
chemist, I have focused on Bergman’s chemical research.
In 2015, I published the first extensive biography of Scheele that has been
written since the 1930s. The book, Ett kemiskt äventyr—Carl Wilhelm Scheele och
hans värld (A Chemical Adventure—Carl Wilhelm Scheele and his World) was
written in Swedish and contained chapters on pharmaceutical history written by
Professor Emeritus Björn Lindeke and Bo Ohlson. I divided the book into two
parts; the first part was a biographical part, while the second part discussed each of
Scheele’s publications, explaining his results in modern terms. This second part was
ix
In order to really understand Scheele, one has to be an experimental chemist. If one
can read about a chemical substance, without feeling an irresistible desire to explore
its properties in the laboratory, one can never fully understand Scheele’s motivations and driving forces. Just like Scheele, I came across out-dated chemistry books
as a boy. I had many magic moments when I managed to get hold of the chemicals
and equipment needed to repeat the experiments form these books. Next, I learned
to design my own simple experiments and to predict their outcome and finally,
many years later, I was in the position to perform experiments not previously
described in the literature. Thus, I was introduced to chemistry in a similar fashion
as Scheele and I believe I am in a good position to understand him. Unfortunately,
the image of Scheele in the literature is quite often misleading, as authors have tried
to fit Scheele into contexts where he does not properly belong. In the late nineteenth
century, for instance, Scheele was turned into a national hero. To be a hero implies
that someone makes a large sacrifice or takes risks without personal benefits. That
would be a false picture of Scheele. Scheele was an outsider in the scientific
community; he did not have a plan for a brilliant career, but was completely
satisfied as long as he had free access to a laboratory.
Bergman is easier to grasp as a person since he shares many features with
modern successful scientists. He was very good at selling his ideas, excellent at
securing support from the right people, and a master in presenting his results. If he
lived today, he would probably have been very successful in writing proposals for
research grants. Unlike Scheele, he carefully planned the steps in his career. The
study of Bergman still presents some problem: while all of Scheele’s work is in the
field of chemistry, Bergman’s work ranges from celestial bodies to atoms, from
caterpillars to volcanoes. No modern scientist can cover such a wide field. As a
chemist, I have focused on Bergman’s chemical research.
In 2015, I published the first extensive biography of Scheele that has been
written since the 1930s. The book, Ett kemiskt äventyr—Carl Wilhelm Scheele och
hans värld (A Chemical Adventure—Carl Wilhelm Scheele and his World) was
written in Swedish and contained chapters on pharmaceutical history written by
Professor Emeritus Björn Lindeke and Bo Ohlson. I divided the book into two
parts; the first part was a biographical part, while the second part discussed each of
Scheele’s publications, explaining his results in modern terms. This second part was
ix