Martin Heinrich Klaproth

Life & Legacy

Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1 December 1743 – 1 January 1817) was a German chemist. He trained and worked for much of his life as an apothecary, moving in later life to the university. His shop became the second-largest apothecary in Berlin, and the most productive artisanal chemical research center in Europe.
Klaproth was a major systematizer of analytical chemistry, and an independent inventor of gravimetric analysis. His attention to detail and refusal to ignore discrepancies in results led to improvements in the use of apparatus. He was a major figure in understanding the composition of minerals and characterizing the elements.
Klaproth discovered uranium (1789)
and zirconium (1789).
He was also involved in the discovery or co-discovery of
titanium (1795),
strontium (1793),
cerium (1803), and
chromium (1797) and confirmed the previous discoveries of
tellurium (1798) and
beryllium (1798).
Klaproth was a member and director of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. He was recognized internationally as a member of the Royal Society in London, the Institut de France, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.