Justus von Liebig : his life and work (1803-1873) / by W.A. Shenstone.

  • William Ashwell Shenstone
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Justus von Liebig : his life and work (1803-1873) / by W.A. Shenstone. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    PEREEPACE: THE name of Liebig is doubtless familiar to most of us, but I fear that very few have any clear idea what he did, why chemists admire and esteem him, or, indeed, are aware that they do admiresand esteem him. As the result of many inquiries, made among cultivated people, I have found the prevailing im- pression concerning Liebig to be that he was a man who gained a large fortune by making “extract of meat.” Now and then one meets someone who “seems to have heard” of his name in connection with agri- culture. Scarcely anyone, now, seems to know that he was one of the greatest of that class in whose work Mr. Balfour finds “the causes which, more than any others, conduce to the movements of great civilised societies.” 1 have therefore made it my object, in writing this little book, not so much to dwell upon Liebig’s private life as to tell what he was, what he did, and why all chemists and all those who are versed in the history of science admire and esteem him so greatly. Fortunately for my purpose, most of Liebig’s work is not only of great general interest, but it lends itself admirably to a non-technical method of treatment. Jonsequently, I have only found it necessary to employ the language of chemistry in parts of two chapters. As I have been careful to explain technical terms when I have used them, and as I have not very
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