Wilhelm Ostwald

Wilhelm Ostwald
Ostwald c. 1883
Born	Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald 2 September [O.S. 21 August] 1853 Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
Died	4 April 1932(1932-04-04) (aged 78) Großbothen, Amtshauptmannschaft Grimma, Saxony, Weimar Republic
Alma mater	Imperial University of Dorpat
Known for	Catalysis Coining the term 'Mole' HSL and HSV Ostwald coefficient Ostwald color system Ostwald dilution law Ostwald process Ostwald ripening Ostwald's rule Ostwald viscometer Ostwald–Folin Pipette Ostwald–Freundlich equation Ostwald–Liesegang cycle Ostwald–de Waele relationship Energeticism
Awards	Faraday Lectureship Prize (1904) Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1909) Wilhelm Exner Medal (1923)
Scientific career
Fields	Physical chemistry
Institutions	Imperial University of Dorpat Riga Polytechnical Institution Leipzig University
Doctoral advisor	Carl Schmidt
Doctoral students	Arthur Amos Noyes Georg Bredig Paul Walden Frederick George Donnan Louis Albrecht Kahlenberg Robert Thomas Diedrich Luther John Livingston Rutgers Morgan James Walker Willis Rodney Whitney

Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈɔstˌvalt] ^ⓘ; 2 September [O.S. 21 August] 1853 – 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, and Svante Arrhenius.^[1] He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his scientific contributions to the fields of catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities.^[2]

Following his 1906 retirement from academic life, Ostwald became much involved in philosophy, art, and politics. He made significant contributions to each of these fields.^[3] He has been described as a polymath.^[4]