Carl Gustaf Mosander

Carl Gustav Mosander ( born September 10, 1797 in Kalmar, Sweden, † October 15, 1858 in Ängsholm, Sweden) was a Swedish chemist and surgeon.

Life

After a pharmacist teaching Mosander studied medicine from 1819. Later he worked as a professor of surgery at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Early Jöns Jacob Berzelius inspired him for the chemistry and became his mentor. In 1836 he became a full professor of chemistry and pharmacy at his succession.

1839 Mosander was named in honor a newly discovered Lanthanmineral mosandrite.

Services

Mosander employed over 20 years with the chemistry of the rare earths and discovered several chemical elements.

In 1826 he noticed an additional oxide in Cerit. In the years 1839-1843 he separated in cerite earth cerium (IV ) -, the speculative Didymoxid and lanthanum on. On this basis, he isolated the first compounds of lanthanum ( 1839) and postulated an element Didym 1840, which later proved to be a mixture of praseodymium and neodymium.

In 1843 he discovered yttrium, erbium and terbium from the yttria described by Johan Gadolin 1794.