Karl Ernst Claus

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This article is about the chemist. For the zoologist, see
Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Claus
.

Karl Claus
Kazan State University

Karl Ernst Claus, also known as Karl Klaus or Carl Claus (

Kazan State University and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He was primarily known as a chemist and discoverer of the chemical element ruthenium, which he named after his homeland of Russia,[2][3] but also as one of the first scientists who applied quantitative methods in botany.[4][5][6]

Early life and education

Karl Claus was born in 1796 in Dorpat, Livonia Governorate, Russian Empire, as the son of a painter. At the age of four, he lost his father and two years later became an orphan. In 1810, he moved to Saint Petersburg and started working as an assistant in a pharmacy. Although he had not received formal education, at age 21, Claus managed to pass the State exam in the pharmacy at the Military Medical Academy of St. Petersburg, becoming the youngest pharmacist in Russia at that time.[4] Later in 1826, he established his own pharmacy in Kazan.[7][1]

In 1821, Claus married Ernestine Bate whom he knew since his youth. They had three daughters born in Kazan and later a son, when they moved back to Tartu.[4]

Botany

In 1827, Claus became involved, as an assistant of

Volga. He later used the collected data in his work Flora der Wolgagegenden (Flora of the Volga Region).[7]

In 1834, while still studying at the University of Tartu, Claus went into another botanic trip to the trans-Volga steppes – this time with chemistry professor Gebel. The results of this expeditions were published in 1837–1838.[7][8]

The standard author abbreviation Claus is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[9]

Chemistry

In 1828, when he already turned 32, Claus decided to continue his education at the

Kazan State University. In 1839, he defended habilitation thesis on separation of minerals in mineral waters and was appointed an assistant professor. He became full professor in chemistry in 1844.[7]

Ruthenium

In 1840, Claus, received a substantial amount of platinum ore samples for his studies from the

Rus', by which Сlaus meant the Russian Empire and Russia in particular.[2][6][10][11] Choosing the name for the new element, he stated: "I named the new body, in honour of my Motherland, ruthenium. I had every right to call it by this name because Mr. Osann relinquished his ruthenium and the word does not yet exist in chemistry."[2][12]

Claus managed not only to isolate ruthenium, but also determine its atomic weight and chemical properties. He noted the similarity of the chemical properties of ruthenium, rhodium, palladium and platinum and meticulously documented his results. For this discovery, he was awarded the

Jöns Jakob Berzelius, who was one of the most renowned scientists in the field of new elements, and thereby became known to European scientists.[11][13]

Health and late years

Claus was known for his negligent attitude towards his health. In particular, he often tasted his chemicals and new compounds and tested the strength of the acids by dipping a finger in them and touching his tongue with it. Once he severely burned his mouth while tasting one of the new ruthenium compounds that he had synthesized. When he isolated osmium tetroxide – a rather toxic chemical – he described its taste as astringent and pepper-like. In April 1845, he was poisoned by osmium tetroxide vapors and had to stop working for two weeks.[14] In 1852, Klaus moved from Kazan back to the University of Tartu and assumed position of professor in pharmacy. He died in Tartu in 1864.[4][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Berthold Peter Anft (1957), "Claus, Karl Ernst", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 3, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 269–270; (full text online)
  2. ^ a b c Matthey, Johnson. "The Discovery of Ruthenium". Johnson Matthey Technology Review. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Origin and meaning of ruthenium". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Клаус, Карл Карлович[permanent dead link] in Волков В.А. et al "Выдающиеся химики мира: Биографический справочник" Moscow, Высш. шк., 1991 (in Russian)
  5. ^ Oppenheim, Alphons (1876). "Claus, Karl". Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. 4: 284.
  6. ^
    doi:10.1002/andp.18451410606
    .
  7. ^ a b c d e f Клаус Карл Карлович Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian)
  8. ^ "Reise in die Steppen des südlichen Russlands" by F. Göbel, C. Claus und A. Bergman (in German)
  9. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Claus.
  10. doi:10.1002/andp.18451400121
    .
  11. ^ a b Pitchkov, V. N. (1996). "The Discovery of Ruthenium". Platinum Metals Review. 40 (4): 181–188. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  12. ^ "Claus, Karl (1845). "О способе добывания чистой платины из руд"". Горный журнал (Mining Journal) (in Russian): 7 (3): 157–163.
  13. ISBN 0-19-850340-7
    .
  14. ^ Красицкий В. А. (2009). "Chemistry and chemists: price of the discoveries" (PDF). Chemistry and Chemists (in Russian). 5: 22–55.
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