How did Carl Wilhelm Scheele discover hydrogen sulfide?

Swedish-German pharmaceutical chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele is credited with discovering the chemical composition of purified hydrogen sulfide in 1777. Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, flammable, and toxic gas known for its characteristic foul odor resembling rotten eggs. Beyond this discovery, Scheele also identified several elements and organic acids during his lifetime of chemical work.

What we know

• Carl Wilhelm Scheele is credited with discovering the chemical composition of purified hydrogen sulfide in 1777. [3]
• Carl Wilhelm Scheele was a German-Swedish pharmaceutical chemist who preferred speaking German throughout his life. [2]
• Scheele also discovered oxygen, molybdenum, tungsten, barium, nitrogen, and chlorine. [2]

Where to go next

• how we knowWhat are the physical and toxicological properties of hydrogen sulfide?
• a case in pointHow did Carl Wilhelm Scheele discover oxygen?
• the bigger pictureWhat role do pharmaceutical chemists play in the history of chemistry?
• whenWhen were other major chemical elements discovered?
• what followedHow does mercury poisoning affect chemists?
• an unexpected connectionHow is a toxic gas used as a biological signaling molecule in the human body?Although hydrogen sulfide is famously recognized as a toxic gas that inhibits cellular respiration like hydrogen cyanide, the human body naturally produces small amounts of it to use as a signaling molecule.

Sources

• [1]Carl Wilhelm Scheele (Wikidata Q70538) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Carl Wilhelm Scheele · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Hydrogen sulfide · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]List of German inventions and discoveries · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Timeline of chemical element discoveries · CC BY-SA 4.0