Rudolf Christian Böttger

Rudolf Christian Böttger ( spelling of the family name was later changed to Boettger, born April 28, 1806 Aschersleben, † April 29, 1881 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German chemist and physicist.

Life

He first studied at age 18 theology in Halle an der Saale and dealt with the natural sciences only in passing. At the age of 22, he took over a church function point in Mühlhausen / Thuringia. But then he discovered his true vocation and studied, after he had laid his ecclesiastical career shelved, now increasingly physics and chemistry.

Inventions

He devoted himself especially of applied chemistry and spearheaded several inventions and innovations or involved:

• An electrochemical process for nickel plating (1842)
• A galvanic process for dyeing and coating of metals and platinization and silvering of glass (1852 )
• The further development particularly in relation to much larger objects by H. Jacobi ( 1837), invented method of electroforming.
• A chemical process for dehairing of animal skins by calcium hydrogen sulfide.
• Together with August Bromeis he developed a new method of glass pressure, the Hyalographie (1842 )
• In 1846 he discovered the gun cotton (cellulose nitrate).
• The invention of safety matches with heads of potassium chlorate, antimony sulfide and glass powder (1848 ).

Awards and Affiliations

• Böttger was appointed by the Great Council of the Free City of Frankfurt am Main professor. The figures of the Gutenberg monument on the horse market, a large urban space were carried out by him galvanoplastically 1854-1858.
• Böttger's grave is located in the main cemetery Frankfurt. According to him the Böttgerstraße in Northrend district was named and a relief at the west wing of the Romans shows him as an important technicians.
• Böttger was awarded by the Austrian Emperor of the Order of the Iron Crown.
• He received the Vasa Order of the Swedish King Oscar.
• In 1880 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina.