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Hennig Brand, German Alchemist

The Alchemist in Search of the Philosophers Stone (1771) by Joseph Wright. Hennig Brand (1630 -1692/1710) was a German merchant and alchemist. Brand searched for the "philosopher's stone", a substance which supposedly transformed base metals into gold. By the time his first wife died he had exhausted her money on this pursuit. He then married his second wife Margaretha, a wealthy widow whose financial resources allowed him to continue the search. Around 1669 he heated residues from boiled-down urine on his furnace until the retort was red hot, glowing fumes filled it and liquid dripped out, bursting into flames. He captured the liquid in a jar and covered it, where it solidified and continued to give off a pale-green glow. What he collected was phosphorus, which he named from the Greek word for "light-bearing" or "light-bearer." He kept his discovery secret and worked with the phosphorus trying unsuccessfully to produce gold.
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Title: Hennig Brand, German Alchemist
Caption: The Alchemist in Search of the Philosophers Stone (1771) by Joseph Wright. Hennig Brand (1630 -1692/1710) was a German merchant and alchemist. Brand searched for the "philosopher's stone", a substance which supposedly transformed base metals into gold. By the time his first wife died he had exhausted her money on this pursuit. He then married his second wife Margaretha, a wealthy widow whose financial resources allowed him to continue the search. Around 1669 he heated residues from boiled-down urine on his furnace until the retort was red hot, glowing fumes filled it and liquid dripped out, bursting into flames. He captured the liquid in a jar and covered it, where it solidified and continued to give off a pale-green glow. What he collected was phosphorus, which he named from the Greek word for "light-bearing" or "light-bearer." He kept his discovery secret and worked with the phosphorus trying unsuccessfully to produce gold.
Category: Science: Personalities
Credit: Album / Science Source
Releases: ? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
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Image size: 3245 × 4200 px | 39.0 MB
Print size: 27.5 × 35.6 cm | 1277.6 × 1653.5 in (300 dpi)
Keywords: 1669 • 17TH CENTURY • ALCHEMICAL • ALCHEMIST • ALCHEMY • ALCHEMY, ALCHEMIST • ART • ARTWORK • BRAND • CELEBRITIES • CELEBRITY • CHEMICAL ELEMENT • DISCOVERED PHOSPHORUS • EUROPEA • EUROPEAN • EUROPEANS • FAMOUS PEOPLE • FAMOUS • FIGURE • GERMAN • GERMANS • HENNIG BRAND • HISTORIC • HISTORICAL • HISTORY • IMPORTANT • JOSEPH WRIGHT • LAB • LABORATORIO • LABORATORY • LABORATORY; LAB • MALE • MAN • MEN • MERCHANT • NOTABLE • PAINTING • PEOPLE • PERSON • PERSONALITIES • PERSONALITY • PHILOSOPHER'S STONE • PHILOSOPHERS STONE • PHOSPHORUS • SCIENCE • SCIENCE: PERSONALITIES • WELL-KNOWN