What is Johan August Arfwedson?
{{Infobox scientist | name = Johan August Arfwedson | image = Arfwedson Johan A.jpg | caption = Johan August Arfwedson | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1792|1|12|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Sweden]] | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1841|10|28|1792|1|12}} | death_place = | death_cause = | nationality = Swedish | citizenship = | alma_mater = [[Uppsala University]] | known_for = Discovered [[lithium]] | awards = | footnotes = | spouse = | children = | field = [[Chemistry]] }} '''Johan August Arfwedson''' (12 January 1792 – 28 October 1841) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[chemist]]. He discovered [[lithium]] in 1817 by isolating it as a [[Salt (chemistry)|salt]]. == Life and work == Arfwedson was born in January 12, 1792. His family was very rich. His father was Jacob Arfwedson and his mother was Anna Elisabeth Holtermann. Arfwedson became a student at the [[Uppsala University]] in 1803. He completed a [[Academic degree|degree]] in [[Law]] in 1809 and a second degree in [[mineralogy]] in 1812. Later in the year, he received an position in the Royal Board of Mines. In [[Stockholm]], Arfwedson knew the chemist [[Jöns Jakob Berzelius]]. He got access to his private laboratory, which is where he discovered lithium in 1817, during [[analysis]] of the [[mineral]] [[petalite]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kAsAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA44|title=Journal für Chemie und Physik|date=1817|publisher=Schrag'schen Buchhnadlung|language=de}}</ref> He was [[elected]] a member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] in 1821. The rare mineral [[arfvedsonite]] was named after him. ==References== {{Reflist}} {{authority control}} {{Biography-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Arfwedson, Johan August}} [[Category:1792 births]] [[Category:1841 deaths]] [[Category:Swedish chemists]]