Johann Joachim Becher was a German scholar, physician and alchemist whose 1667 Physica Subterranea proposed that combustible bodies contain a fatty earth, terra pinguis, released into the air as they burn. Georg Ernst Stahl renamed and developed this idea into phlogiston around 1703, and the combined theory dominated chemistry until Antoine Lavoisier's oxygen theory replaced it. Becher was also an early advocate of what became cameralist economic policy at several German courts.
Facts
NationalityPrince-Bishopric of Speyer 2 Field
Field (category) Connections
Proposed
Becher's 1667 Physica Subterranea proposed the terra pinguis, fatty earth, concept that Stahl renamed phlogiston and developed into the full theory around 1703.
Source Phlogiston Theory (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Johann Joachim Becher (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
Johann Joachim Becher (German: [ˈbɛçɐ]; 6 May 1635, October 1682) was a German physician, alchemist, precursor of chemistry, scholar, polymath and adventurer, best known for his terra pinguis theory which became the phlogiston theory of combustion, and his advancement of Austrian cameralism.
2. Johann Joachim Becher (Wikidata)
P27 (country of citizenship): Prince-Bishopric of Speyer
Q574644
P20 (place of death): London, United Kingdom
Q84
P19 (place of birth): Speyer, Germany
Q6829
View the SourcePhlogiston Theory (Wikipedia)
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.