Scheele and oxygen

Carl Scheele
1742-1786

In this podcast, Mark and Jack share stories about the "hard-luck" Swedish chemist, Carl Scheele. Not given the accolades of scientists like Antione Lavoisier and Joseph Priestly (the two scientists generally given credit for the discovery of oxygen), Scheele's contributions can be shown to be perhaps even more significant in the discovery of this life-giving element. Discussions concerning the role of oxygen in burning add to the story told so that listeners will come away with a good understanding of the chemical process called combustion.

Podcast length: 28:47

Show Notes:

Selected Awards and Publications associated with Carl Scheele:

The Scheele Award The purpose of the award is commemorate Carl Scheele as a great chemist and a pharmacist and has been given annually or biannually since 1961, The award is given to "a particularly prominent and internationally renowned pharmaceutical scientist".
Collection of Essays by Scheele translated into French
Oxygen by Carl Djerassi and Roald Hoffman (2001)

Discussed in the episode:

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, (2003)

In this book, Bill Bryson discusses the "luckless" chemist, Carl Scheele.

How the level of oxygen in the air affects humans as discussed in the podcast.

Joseph Priestly

Scientists also given credit for discovering oxygen.

Antionne Lavoisier