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ictor Moritz GoldschmidtChemist and geophysicist
Date of Birth: 07.01.1888
Country:  Norway |
Content:
- Victor Moritz Goldschmidt: Chemist and Geophysicist
- Early Life and Education
- Scientific Contributions
- World War II and Later Life
Victor Moritz Goldschmidt: Chemist and Geophysicist
Victor Moritz Goldschmidt was a renowned chemist and geophysicist who is considered one of the founders of geochemistry and crystallography. He developed the geochemical classification of elements and proposed the law of isomorphism, which was named after him. Goldschmidt also formulated one of the earliest theories about the composition and structure of the Earth's depths, and his predictions were widely confirmed. He was also one of the first to calculate the composition of the upper continental crust.
Early Life and Education
Victor Moritz Goldschmidt was born in Zurich to parents Heinrich J. Goldschmidt and Amelie Koehne. He was named after his father's teacher, Victor Meyer. In 1901, the Goldschmidt family moved to Norway when Heinrich Goldschmidt became a professor of chemistry in Christiania (now Oslo).
Scientific Contributions
Goldschmidt's first scientific work, "Contact Metamorphism in the Vicinity of Christiania," applied thermodynamic phase rules to geological objects for the first time. His series of works titled "Geochemische Verteilungsgesetze der Elemente" (Geochemical Distribution Laws of the Elements) is considered the beginning of geochemistry. His research on atomic and ionic radii greatly influenced crystallography.
World War II and Later Life
During the German occupation, Goldschmidt was arrested but was rescued by the Norwegian Resistance just before being sent to a concentration camp. He was then transported to Sweden and later moved to England, where his relatives resided. After the war, Goldschmidt returned to Oslo, where he passed away at the age of 59. His major work, "Geochemistry," was posthumously edited and published in England in 1954.
