Friedrich Christian Accum

author

Friedrich Christian Accum

1769–1838

A chemist, teacher, and early food-safety crusader, he helped bring science into everyday life in Georgian London. His books on gas lighting and adulterated foods made chemistry feel urgent, practical, and surprisingly readable.

5 Audiobooks

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons Exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in Domestic Economy

A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons Exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in Domestic Economy

by Friedrich Christian Accum

Culinary Chemistry The Scientific Principles of Cookery, with Concise Instructions for Preparing Good and Wholesome Pickles, Vinegar, Conserves, Fruit Jellies, Marmalades, and Various Other Alimentary Substances Employed in Domestic Economy, with Observations on the Chemical Constitution and Nutritive Qualities of Different Kinds of Food.

Culinary Chemistry The Scientific Principles of Cookery, with Concise Instructions for Preparing Good and Wholesome Pickles, Vinegar, Conserves, Fruit Jellies, Marmalades, and Various Other Alimentary Substances Employed in Domestic Economy, with Observations on the Chemical Constitution and Nutritive Qualities of Different Kinds of Food.

by Friedrich Christian Accum

A Practical Treatise on Gas-light Exhibiting a Summary Description of the Apparatus and Machinery Best Calculated for Illuminating Streets, Houses, and Manufactories, with Carburetted Hydrogen, or Coal-Gas, with Remarks on the Utility, Safety, and General Nature of this new Branch of Civil Economy.

A Practical Treatise on Gas-light Exhibiting a Summary Description of the Apparatus and Machinery Best Calculated for Illuminating Streets, Houses, and Manufactories, with Carburetted Hydrogen, or Coal-Gas, with Remarks on the Utility, Safety, and General Nature of this new Branch of Civil Economy.

by Friedrich Christian Accum

A treatise on the art of making good wholesome bread of wheat, oats, rye, barley and other farinaceous grains Exhibiting the alimentary properties and chemical constitution of different kinds of bread corn, and of the various substitutes used for bread, in different parts of the world

A treatise on the art of making good wholesome bread of wheat, oats, rye, barley and other farinaceous grains Exhibiting the alimentary properties and chemical constitution of different kinds of bread corn, and of the various substitutes used for bread, in different parts of the world

by Friedrich Christian Accum

Description of the Process of Manufacturing Coal Gas, for the Lighting of Streets Houses, and Public Buildings With Elevations, Sections, and Plans of the Most Improved Sorts of Apparatus Now Employed at the Gas Works in London and the Principal Provincial Towns of Great Britain; Accompanied With Comparative Estimates, Exhibiting the Most Economical Mode of Procuring This Species of Light

Description of the Process of Manufacturing Coal Gas, for the Lighting of Streets Houses, and Public Buildings With Elevations, Sections, and Plans of the Most Improved Sorts of Apparatus Now Employed at the Gas Works in London and the Principal Provincial Towns of Great Britain; Accompanied With Comparative Estimates, Exhibiting the Most Economical Mode of Procuring This Species of Light

by Friedrich Christian Accum

About the author

Born in Bückeburg in 1769, Friedrich Christian Accum trained as an apothecary before moving to London in 1793. There he built a busy career as a chemist, lecturer, and maker of laboratory equipment, and became known for explaining chemistry to general audiences rather than only to specialists.

Accum is especially remembered for two kinds of work: his writing on gas lighting, an important new technology of the early 1800s, and his attacks on unsafe food additives. His 1820 book on food adulteration warned readers about everyday products being tampered with in dangerous ways, helping make him one of the early public voices for consumer protection.

After many productive years in London, he returned to Germany in the 1820s and later worked in Berlin, where he died in 1838. Today he stands out as a scientist who linked chemistry with public life, showing how the subject could illuminate streets, shape industry, and protect ordinary people at the dinner table.