The Making of the Chemist: The Social History of Chemistry in Europe, 1789-1914

Modern chemistry, so alarming, so necessary, so ubiquitous, became a mature science in nineteenth-century Europe. As it developed, often from a lowly position in medicine or in industry, so chemists established themselves as professional men; but differently in different countries. In 1820 chemistry was an autonomous science of great prestige but chemists had no corporate identity. It was 1840 before national chemical societies were first formed; and many countries lagged fifty years behind...