Katana VentraIP

History of chemistry

The history of chemistry represents a time span from ancient history to the present. By 1000 BC, civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. Examples include the discovery of fire, extracting metals from ores, making pottery and glazes, fermenting beer and wine, extracting chemicals from plants for medicine and perfume, rendering fat into soap, making glass, and making alloys like bronze.

Further information: Chemistry and Timeline of chemistry

The protoscience of chemistry, alchemy, was unsuccessful in explaining the nature of matter and its transformations. However, by performing experiments and recording the results, alchemists set the stage for modern chemistry.


The history of chemistry is intertwined with the history of thermodynamics, especially through the work of Willard Gibbs.[1]

Selected classic papers from the history of chemistry

Biographies of Chemists

Eric R. Scerri, The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Morris, Peter J. T.; Rocke, Alan, eds. (2022). A Cultural History of Chemistry. Volumes 1–6. London: Bloomsbury.  9781474294928.

ISBN

Beretta, Marco, ed. (2022). A Cultural History Of Chemistry in Antiquity (Volume 1). London: Bloomsbury. :10.5040/9781474203746. ISBN 978-1-4742-9453-9.

doi

(2006). "Textbooks and the future of the history of chemistry as an academic discipline". Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 3: 1–8.

Jensen, William B

(1966). The Origins of Chemistry. London: Oldbourne. OCLC 977570829.

Multhauf, Robert P.

(1961–1964). A History of Chemistry. London: Macmillan. OCLC 1149250811. (four volumes)

Partington, James R.

(2013). The Secrets of Alchemy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226103792. (general overview of the history of alchemy and chemistry, with a focus on the relationship between the two; written in a highly accessible style)

Principe, Lawrence M.

Rampling, Jennifer M (2017). . Ambix. 64 (4): 295–300. doi:10.1080/00026980.2017.1434970. PMID 29448901.

"The Future of the History of Chemistry"

Rampling, Jennifer M. (2020). . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226826547.

The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300-1700

– Chemists of the Past

ChemisLab

SHAC: Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry