author
P. T. (Per Teodor) Cleve
1840–1905
Best known for discovering the elements holmium and thulium, this Swedish scientist moved easily between chemistry, mineralogy, biology, and oceanography. His work helped untangle the mysteries of the rare earths and left a mark on several branches of nineteenth-century science.
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Carl Wilhelm Scheele ett minnesblad på hundrade årsdagen af hans död
by P. T. (Per Teodor) Cleve
About the author
Born in Stockholm in 1840, he studied at Uppsala University and went on to build his career there, eventually becoming a professor of chemistry. Reliable reference sources describe him not only as a chemist, but also as a mineralogist, biologist, and oceanographer, which gives a good sense of how wide his scientific interests were.
He is remembered above all for his work on rare-earth chemistry. Reference accounts credit him with discovering holmium and thulium, and also with showing that the substance once called didymium was not a single element after all, but a mixture that later came to be understood as praseodymium and neodymium.
His curiosity ranged well beyond the laboratory. He also carried out important studies of microscopic marine life, especially diatoms, showing the same careful, investigative style that shaped his chemical research. He died in Uppsala in 1905, leaving behind a reputation as one of Sweden's notably versatile scientists of his time.