Century of Nobel Prizes

Abstract

Svante August Arrhenius was born at Wijk, near lake M~ilar, in Sweden on February 19, 1859. His parents were Svante Gustav Arrhenius (a town land surveyor) and Carolina Christina Thunberg. The family name 'Arrenius' is believed to have been changed to 'Arrhenius' by the Svante's uncle, Johan Arrhenius, a Professor of botany. The family moved to Uppsala for better prospects in 1860. It is recorded that he learnt to read at the age of three. Reports also say that this rather precocious and plump boy used to help his father in casting his laborious accounts. Svante attended the cathedral school of Uppsala and graduated in 1876 with a good record in mathematics and physics. He joined the University of Uppsala to study chemistry under Professor Clev6, who was apparently an uninspiring teacher and also one who neglected the theoretical aspects of chemistry. In 1881, Svante turned to physics and joined Professor Thal~n, who unfortunately did not encourage independent research. Ultimately, he joined the Swedish Academy Professor Eric Edlund in Stockholm. With Edlund's enthusiastic support, he submitted his first research paper in 1883. This research work dealt with the decay of galvanic polarization with time.