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Wilhelm Ostwald

Wilhelm Ostwald

1853 CE1932 CE · Riga

Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald (German: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈɔstvalt] ; 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. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his scientific contributions to the fields of catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities. 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. He has been described as a polymath.

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RigaריגהLatvia

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About Riga

Riga, the capital of Latvia, had a substantial Jewish community in the modern era and was a center of Jewish cultural and religious life in the Baltic. The Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn resided there for several years in the late 1920s before relocating his court; Riga was also the birthplace of the scholars Nechama and Yeshayahu Leibowitz.

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Wilhelm OstwaldShapedWalther NernstSvante Arrhenius
Related figuresSvante ArrheniusSuggested by shared subject matter, not a documented teaching relationship.