Carl Wilhelm Scheele

Abstract

Carl Wilhelm Scheele was born in Stralsund, Swedish
Pomerania, on December 19, 1742 and died in Köping,
Sweden, on May 21, 1786. He was the seventh of eleven
children (six boys and five girls) of Jochim Christian
Scheele, a brewer and later broker, and Margaretha
Eleonora Warnekros. Like his oldest brother, Johan Martin
(1734-1754), Carl became interested on pharmacy at
an early age and chose it as his career. It is said that
while still a boy he was taught by two friends of the family
in Stralsund, a physician named Schutte and a pharmacist
named Cornelius. After finishing school, which
did not include a Gymnasium course, Scheele went to
Göteborg in 1757, at the of age 14, to began his training
with Martin Anders Bauch, the owner of the pharmacy
at the Unicorn in Gothenburg, taking the place of his
brother Johan Martin, who had died of typhoid two years
before. The stock of chemicals present in the pharmacy
afforded Scheele with a starting point for many investigations
and discoveries. His master promptly recognized
the unusual abilities of his apprentice and encouraged
him by putting at his disposal the necessary chemicals
and equipment, as well as allowing him to use his wellequipped
library. Three of the most famous chemical
handbooks of the time, Johann Kunckel’s