Friedrich Accum
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Friedrich Christian Accum (29 March 1769, Bückeburg - 28 June 1838, Berlin) was a German chemist.
He was a son of Christian Accum (Hertz Markus, before conversion) and Suzanne Berthe La Motte.
Accum emigrated to London in 1793 and became professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the Surrey Institute around 1802, and worked as librarian at the Royal Institution.
The use of coal gas in lighting buildings was first invented by William Murdoch in 1792. The principle was later studied by Samuel Clegg. In 1803 Clegg and arts dealer Rudolph Ackermann united to install public gas lighting the city of London using coal gas.In 1810 the London & Westminster Gas Light & Coke company was founded, and Clegg and Accum became their head engineers.
He returned to Berlin in 1822 after facing charges of embezzlement related to his position as librarian, which however could not be proved. In Berlin, he accepted a position as lecturer at the Gewerbeinstitut and the Bauakademie.
[edit] Publications
Accum wrote a number of influential books including
- A Practical Treatise on Gas Light, 1815, which was successful in promoting gas illumination of cities.
- Culinary Chemistry, 1821
- On the Adulteration of Food, 1822
- Essay of Chemical Reactants, 1816
- Chemische und physikalische Beobachtungen der Baumaterialien, 2 volumes, Berlin, 1826
