Jöns Jakob Berzelius

Berzelius regarded himself as his correspondent Dalton’s disciple. He wrote to Berthollet about the presence of fluoride in water, visited Gay-Lussac in Paris, and contributed to Nicholson’s scientific journal. A prolific correspondent, Humboldt, Davy (a rival), Faraday, Turner and Mulder were among other scientist contacts; Mitscherlich and Wöhler (in search of the best-possible chemical education) had both studied in his laboratory. Andersen (with an introduction from Ørsted) visited him in Uppsala, and got a warm reception. Liebig became increasingly irritated at the failure of his ‘fatherly friend’ to publicly pass on his mantle.