Editing Lothar Meyer

{{Short description|German physician and chemist (1830–1895)}}
{{for|the German footballer|Lothar Meyer (footballer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Lothar Meyer
| image             = Lothar Meyer 1883.jpg
| caption           = Meyer in 1883
| birth_name        = Julius Lothar Meyer
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1830|8|19|df=yes}}
| birth_place       = [[Varel]], [[Duchy of Oldenburg]]
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1895|4|11|1830|8|19|df=yes}}
| death_place       = [[Tübingen]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg]]
| residence         =
| citizenship       = 
| nationality       = German
| alma_mater        = [[University of Würzburg]], [[University of Breslau]]
| doctoral_advisor  = 
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for         = [[Periodic table]] of [[chemical element]]s
| signature         = 
| footnotes         = 
| field             = [[Chemistry]]
| work_institutions = [[University of Tübingen]]
| prizes            = [[Davy Medal]] <small>(1882)</small> 
}}
'''Julius Lothar Meyer''' (19 August 1830 – 11 April 1895) was a German [[chemist]]. He was one of the pioneers in developing the earliest versions of the [[periodic table]] of the [[chemical element]]s. The Russian chemist [[Dmitri Mendeleev]] (his chief rival) and he both had worked with [[Robert Bunsen]]. Meyer never used his first given name and was simply known as Lothar Meyer throughout his life.

==Career==
Meyer was born in [[Varel]], Germany (then part of the [[Duchy of Oldenburg]]). He was the son of Friedrich August Meyer, a physician, and Anna Biermann. After attending the Altes Gymnasium in Oldenburg, he studied medicine at the [[University of Zurich]] in 1851. Two years later, he studied [[pathology]] at the [[University of Würzburg]] as a student of [[Rudolf Virchow]]. At Zurich, he had studied under [[Carl Ludwig]], which had prompted him to devote his attention to physiological chemistry. After graduating as a Doctor of Medicine from Würzburg in 1854, he went to [[Heidelberg University]], where [[Robert Bunsen]] held the chair of chemistry. In 1858, he received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the [[University of Breslau]] with a thesis on the effects of [[carbon monoxide]] on the [[blood]]. With this interest in the [[physiology]] of [[respiration (physiology)|respiration]], he had recognized that [[oxygen]] combines with the [[hemoglobin]] in blood.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=g-kKPYLzBR0C&dq=Julius+Lothar+Meyer+hemoglobin&pg=PA54 Sergei Vinogradskii and the Cycle of Life: From the Thermodynamics of Life ...], Lloyd Ackert</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4S60ronf9ooC&dq=Julius+Lothar+Meyer+hemoglobin&pg=PA51 The Disappearing Spoon...and other true tales from the Periodic Table], Sam Kean</ref>

Influenced by the mathematical teaching of [[Gustav Kirchhoff]], he took up the study of mathematical physics at the University of [[Königsberg]] under [[Franz Ernst Neumann]] and in 1859, after having received his [[habilitation]] (certification for university teaching), became ''[[Privatdozent]]'' in physics and chemistry at the University of [[Breslau]]. In 1866, Meyer accepted a post at the [[Eberswalde Forestry Academy]] at Neustadt-Eberswalde but two years later was appointed to a professorship at the [[University of Karlsruhe|Karlsruhe Polytechnic]].<ref name="eb">{{EB1911|wstitle=Meyer, Julius Lothar|volume=18|pages=348–349}}</ref>

In 1872, Meyer was the first to suggest that the six [[carbon]] atoms in the [[benzene]] ring (that had been proposed a few years earlier by [[August Kekulé]]) were interconnected by single bonds only, the fourth valence of each carbon atom being directed toward the interior of the ring.

During the [[Franco-Prussian War]], the Polytechnic was used as a hospital and Meyer took an active role in the care of the wounded. In 1876, Meyer became Professor of Chemistry at the [[University of Tübingen]], where he served until his death from a [[stroke]] on 11 April 1895 at the age of 64.<ref name="eb"/>

==Periodic table==
Meyer is best known for his part in the periodic classification of the elements. He noted, as [[John A. R. Newlands]] did in England, that if the elements were arranged in the order of their atomic weights, they fell into groups of similar chemical and physical properties repeated at periodic intervals. According to him, if the atomic weights were plotted as [[Abscissa and ordinate|ordinates]] and the atomic volumes as [[Abscissa and ordinate|abscissae]]—the curve obtained a series of [[Maximum and minimum|maxima and minima]]—the most electro-positive elements appearing at the peaks of the curve in the order of their atomic weights.<ref name="eb"/>

[[File:PSM_V59_D593_Atomic_weights_and_volumes_of_the_inert_constituents_of_the_atmosphere.png|thumb|A similar graph from a 1901 issue of [[Popular Science|PopSci]] magazine. (The noble gasses marked with arrows were not discovered at the time of Meyer.)]]

[[File:Periodic table Meyer 1864.png|upright=1.75|thumb|Lothar Meyer's periodic table, published in "Die modernen Theorien der Chemie" (1864)<ref name="Meyer table">Meyer, Julius Lothar; Die modernen Theorien der Chemie (1864); table on page 137, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190102050414/https://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/goToPage/bsb10073411.html?pageNo=147]</ref>]]
His book, ''Die modernen Theorien der Chemie'', which he began writing in [[Breslau]] in 1862 and published two years later, contained an early version of the periodic table. It contained 28 elements, grouping them for the first time into six families by their [[valence (chemistry)|valence]]. Works on organizing the elements by [[atomic weight]], until then had been stymied by the widespread use of [[equivalent weight]]s for the elements, rather than atomic weights.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alan J. Rocke|title=Chemical Atomism in the Nineteenth Century: From Dalton to Cannizzaro|publisher=Ohio State University Press|year=1984}}</ref>

He published articles about classification table of the elements in horizontal form (1864) and vertical form (1870), in which the series of periods are properly ended by an element of the alkaline earth metal group.<ref>
{{cite journal|author=Makeyev A.K. |title=Julius Lothar Meyer was first to build the periodic table of elements |url=http://www.ortpublishing.de/p/blog-page.html |journal=European Applied Sciences |year=2013 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=49–61 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715213743/http://www.ortpublishing.de/p/blog-page.html |archivedate=15 July 2013 }}</ref>

== Table of Meyer, 1864 ==
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|- align="center"
|||Valence IV||Valence III||Valence II||Valence I||Valence I||Valence II||Mass difference
|- align="center"
|I row |||||||||| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[lithium|Li]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[beryllium|Be]]||~16
|- align="center"
|II row || style="background: #ffff99;" |[[carbon|C]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[nitrogen|N]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[oxygen|O]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[fluorine|F]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[sodium|Na]] || style="background: #ff6666;" | [[magnesium|Mg]]||~16
|- align="center"
|III row|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[silicon|Si]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[phosphorus|P]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[Sulfur|S]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[chlorine|Cl]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[potassium|K]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[calcium|Ca]]||~45
|- align="center"
|IV row|||| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[arsenic|As]] || style="background: #ffff99;" |[[selenium|Se]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[bromine|Br]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[rubidium|Rb]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[strontium|Sr]]||~45
|- align="center"
|V row|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[tin|Sn]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[antimony|Sb]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[tellurium|Te]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[iodine|I]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[caesium|Cs]]|| style="background: #ff6666;" |[[barium|Ba]]||~90
|- align="center"
|VI row|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[lead|Pb]]|| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[bismuth|Bi]]|||||| style="background: #ffff99;" |[[thallium|Tl]]||||~90
|- align="center"
|}

== Table of Meyer, 1870 ==

In 1869, [[Dmitri Mendeleev]] published a periodic table of all elements known at that time (he later predicted several new elements to complete the table, and corrected some atomic weights). A few months later, Meyer published a paper that included a revised version of his 1864 table that now included virtually all of the known elements, which was similar to the table published by Mendeleev:<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Meyer|first1= Lothar|date= 1870|title= Die Natur der chemischen Elemente als Function ihrer Atomgewichte|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112018225695&view=1up&seq=368|journal= Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie|volume= Supplementary volume VII|issue= 3|pages= 354–364|access-date=19 August 2020}}</ref>

<br />
{| style="margin:auto;"  border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|- style="text-align:center;"
||I||II||III||IV||V||VI||VII||VIII||IX
|- style="text-align:center;
||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Boron|B]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Aluminum|Al]]|||||||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Indium|?In<math>^\dagger</math>]]|||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Thallium|Tl]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Carbon|C]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Silicon|Si]]|| style="background:#ff9;"| <br />[[Titanium|Ti]]|||| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Zirconium|Zr]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Tin|Sn]]|||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Lead|Pb]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Nitrogen|N]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Phosphorus|P]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Vanadium|V]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Arsenic|As]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Niobium|Nb]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Antimony|Sb]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Tantalum|Ta]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Bismuth|Bi]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Oxygen|O]] || style="background:#ff9;"|[[Sulfur|S]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Chromium|Cr]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Selenium|Se]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Molybdenum|Mo]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Tellurium|Те]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Tungsten|W]]||
|- style="text-align:center;"
||| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Fluorine|F]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Chlorine|Cl]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Manganese|Mn]] <br  />[[Iron|Fe]] <br />[[Cobalt|Co]] <br />[[Nickel|Ni]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Bromine|Br]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Ruthenium|Ru]] <br />[[Rhodium|Rh]] <br />[[Palladium|Pd]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|[[Iodine|I]] <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Osmium|Os]] <br />[[Iridium|Ir]] <br />[[Platinum|Pt]]||
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f66;"|[[Lithium|Li]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Sodium|Na]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Potassium|K]]|| style="background:#ff9;"| <br />[[Copper|Cu]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Rubidium|Rb]]|| style="background:#ff9;"| <br />[[Silver|Ag]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Cesium|Cs]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Gold|Au]]||
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f66;"|[[Beryllium|?Be<math>^\dagger</math>]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Magnesium|Mg]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Calcium|Ca]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Zinc|Zn]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Strontium|Sr]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Cadmium|Cd]]|| style="background:#f66;"|[[Barium|Ba]]|| style="background:#ff9;"|<br />[[Mercury (element)|Hg]]||
|-
| colspan="9" style="text-align:right;"| <math>^\dagger</math> The question marks indicate that the atomic weights<br />were conjectured based on the equivalent weights.
|}

Meyer had developed his fuller periodic table independently, but he acknowledged Mendeleev's priority. Included in Meyer's paper was a line chart of atomic volumes as a function of atomic weights, showing graphically the periodicity of the elements. Like Mendeleev, he also included predictions of future elements, but unlike Mendeleev did not emphasize these predictions nor suggest details of the physical and chemical properties of the future elements.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eric Scerri|title=The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/periodictableits0000scer|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-19-530573-9 }}</ref>

In 1882, both Meyer and Mendeleev received the [[Davy Medal]] from the [[Royal Society]] in recognition of their work on the [[Periodic Law]].

The mineral lotharmeyerite, {{chem2|CaZn2(AsO4)2 · 2H2O}}, was discovered in 1983 and named in recognition of Meyer's work on the Periodic Law. The [[Type locality (geology)|type locality]] is the [[Ojuela]] mine, [[Mapimí Municipality|Mapimí]], [[Durango]], [[Mexico]].<ref>Lotharmeyerite.  https://www.mindat.org/min-2439.html, accessed 15 June 2018.</ref> Four closely related minerals have been described since 1983: ferrilotharmeyerite (1992);<ref>Ferrilotharmeyerite.  https://www.mindat.org/min-1495.html, accessed 15 June 2018.</ref> cobaltlotharmeyerite  (1997);<ref>Cobaltlotharmeyerite.  https://www.mindat.org/min-6885.html, accessed 15 June 2018.</ref> nickellotharmeyerite  (1999);<ref>Nickellotharmeyerite.  https://www.mindat.org/min-11004.html, accessed 15 June 2018.</ref> and manganlotharmeyerite  (2002).<ref>Manganlotharmeyerite.  https://www.mindat.org/min-11206.html, accessed 15 June 2018.</ref>

==Personal life==
Meyer married Johanna Volkmann in 1866.<ref>{{NDB|17|304|306|Meyer, Lothar|Krätz, Otto|118733419}}</ref>

==Tribute==
On 19 August 2020, [[Google]] celebrated his 190th birthday with a [[Google Doodle]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://doodles.google/doodle/julius-lothar-meyers-190th-birthday/ |title=Julius Lothar Meyer's 190th Birthday |website=Google |date=19 August 2020 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Dimitri Mendeleev]]
*[[History of the periodic table]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Meyer, Julius Lothar}}
* {{cite journal | volume = 28 | issue = 4 | pages = 1109–46 | year = 1918 | title =  Nekrolog: Lothar Meyer | first = Karl | last = Seubert | doi = 10.1002/cber.18950280498 | journal = Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft| url = https://zenodo.org/record/1425816 }}
* Harald Kluge and Ingrid Kaestner, ''Ein Wegbereiter der physikalischen Chemie im 19. Jahrhundert, Julius Lothar Meyer (1830–1895)'' (Aachen: Shaker-Verlag, 2014).
* Otto Kraetz, "Lothar Meyer," ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'', 17 (1994), 304–06.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lothar Meyer}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Julius Lothar Meyer |sopt=t}}
* [http://www.chemie-master.de/pse/pse.php?modul=pse_meyer Periodic table according to Lothar Meyer (1870)]
* [https://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/events/2007paulingconference/video-s1-2-gordin.html Video of a talk by Michael Gordin titled "Periodicity, Priority, Pedagogy: Mendeleev and Lothar Meyer"]
* [http://www.meta-synthesis.com/webbook/35_pt/pt_database.php?Button=All The Internet Database of Periodic Tables. Chemogenesis web book.]
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Meyer, Lothar Julius|year=1920 |short=x}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Lothar}}
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1895 deaths]]
[[Category:Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development]]
[[Category:19th-century German chemists]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology]]
[[Category:People from Oldenburg (state)]]
[[Category:People from Varel]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Tübingen]]
[[Category:University of Würzburg alumni]]
[[Category:People involved with the periodic table]]