Gottlieb Kirchhoff

Gottlieb Sigismund Kirchhoff
Born	February 19, 1764(1764-02-19) Teterow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Died	February 14, 1833(1833-02-14) (aged 68) Saint Petersburg, Russia
Residence	Russia
Fields	Chemistry
Known for	Hydrolysis of starch into a sugar. Refining vegetable oil.

Gottlieb Sigismund Kirchhoff (19 February1764 – 14 February 1833) was a Russian chemist. In 1812 he became the first person to convert starch into a sugar (corn syrup), by heating it with sulfuric acid. This sugar was eventually named glucose.^[1] He also worked out a method of refining vegetable oil, and established a factory that prepared two tons of refined oil a day.^[1]

Since the sulfonic acid was not consumed, it was an early example of a catalyst. (A term that Jöns Jacob Berzelius would later coin.)

References

^ ^a ^b Asimov, Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology 2nd Revised edition

Persondata
Name	Kirchoff, Gottlieb Sigismund
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	19 February 1764
Place of birth	Teterow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Date of death	14 February 1833
Place of death	Saint Petersburg, Russia