Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Wackenroder

Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Wackenroder (8 March 1798 in Burgdorf, Hanover – 4 September 1854 in Jena) was a German chemist.

Career and work

In June, 1826 Wackenroder published his doctoral dissertation, “On Anthelminthics in the Vegetable Kingdom,” presented to Göttingen University, which earned him praise, and the Royal Prize.

In 1827 he obtained his doctorate from the University of Erlangen, becoming an associate professor the following year at the University of Jena, where he worked with Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780–1849). In 1829, he re-established the Pharmacy Institute in Jena (founded 1821) with Friedrich Wilhelm Theile and Prof. Wahl. In 1836, he was appointed Director of the Pharmacy Institute, later known as the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Institute. In 1838 he was appointed as an honorary Professor ordinarius at the university. In 1845 he discovered the Wackenroder solution, a polythionic acid, resulting from the reaction of aqueous sulphur dioxide with hydrogen sulphide.

Writings Chemische Tabellen zur Analyse der unorganischen Körper (1829) Synoptische Tabellen über die chemischen Verbindungen erster Ordnung (1830) Ausführliche Charakteristik der wichtigsten Stickstoffreihen organischer Säuren (1841) Chemische Klassifikation der einfachen und zusammengesetzten Körper und die wichtigsten Verbindungen derselben (1851)