Friedrich Stromeyer

Who was Friedrich Stromeyer?

Friedrich Stromeyer was a German chemist. Stromeyer received an MD degree from the University of Göttingen in 1800, studying under Johann Friedrich Gmelin and Louis Nicolas Vauquelin. He was then a professor at the university, and also served as an inspector of apothecaries.

While studying compounds of zinc, Stromeyer discovered the element cadmium in 1817; cadmium is a common impurity of zinc compounds, though often found only in minute quantities. He was also the first to recommend starch as a reagent for free iodine and he studied chemistry of arsine and bismuthate salts.