Arrhenius, Svante August (1859–1927)

SVANTE AUGUST ARRHENIUS is considered both a founder of physical chemistry for his work on ionic solutions and their electrolytic dissociation and the father of climate change science for his work on the contribution of carbon dioxide to global warming. Both theories were a great challenge to the scientific community of his time.

Svante August Arrhenius was born on February 19, 1859, in Wijk, near Uppsala, Sweden, as the son of [Page 78]Svante Gustaf Arrhenius, a land surveyer at the University of Uppsala, and Carolina Christina Thunberg. His ancestors were farmers; his uncle became Professor of botany and rector of the Agricultural High School at Ultuna near Uppsala and later Secretary of the Swedish Academy of Agriculture. He originally went to Uppsala University to study chemistry. ...