Svante Arrhenius

Born in Sweden in 1859, Svante Arrhenius became one of the founders of physical chemistry. His work on electrolytic dissociation argued that substances break into charged particles when dissolved in water, an idea that was controversial at first but later became central to modern chemistry. In 1903, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Arrhenius also made lasting contributions beyond chemistry. He worked on reaction rates, helping shape what is now known as the Arrhenius equation, and he explored questions in cosmology and geophysics. In 1896, he published an early study of the greenhouse effect, estimating how changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide might influence the planet’s temperature.

He spent much of his career in Stockholm, including work connected with the Nobel institutions, and remained an energetic public voice for science until his death in 1927. His career shows an unusual range: from the smallest charged particles in solution to the climate of the whole Earth.