Quizzes
Quick Facts
- In full:
- Carl Wilhelm Wolfgang Ostwald
- Born:
- May 27, 1883, Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire
- Died:
- November 22, 1943, Dresden, Germany (aged 60)
- Notable Family Members:
- father Wilhelm Ostwald
- Subjects Of Study:
- colloid
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Wolfgang Ostwald
German chemist
Also known as: Carl Wilhelm Wolfgang Ostwald
Wolfgang Ostwald (born May 27, 1883, Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire—died November 22, 1943, Dresden, Germany) was a German chemist who devoted his life as a teacher, researcher, and editor to the advancement of colloid chemistry.
Ostwald, the second son of Wilhelm Ostwald, spent most of his career at the University of Leipzig, beginning as a zoology student before turning to chemistry; he became a full professor there in 1935. As the editor (from 1909) of Kolloidchemische Beihefte and other journals and as the founder (1922) and president of the Kolloid Gesellschaft, Ostwald exerted international influence in fostering and forwarding research in colloids. His own work included discoveries of electrical and optical properties of colloids.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.