Petru Poni (1841-1925)

Romanian chemist and mineralogist; precurssor of the Romanian chemical school. Professor at the University of Jassy and member of the Romanian Academy. It was he who initiated researches on the chemical substance of the minerals existing in the country. He published the following works: "Researches on the minerals from the Brosteni crystalline massif" (1882), " The Badenii-Ungureni Minerals"(1885), "Facts Helping A Mineralogical Description of Romania" (1900), which is the first monograph on the minerals of our country, "Researches on the chemical composition of Romanian oils" (1903).

His pioneer researches also led to the finding out of two new minerals, whom he himself named: "brostenite" and "badenite". He analysed and wrote about the effect of various strengths of azotic acid on the paraffin hydrocarbons in the indigenous oil. His scientific coverage was also from mineral waters in the country to the meteorological phenomena occurring in Moldova. He authored a manual of physics and a manual of chemistry, to be the first ever written in Romanian. He organized the first research laboratories in the country, where chemists were delivered practical classes. He was among the founders of the Romanian Scientific Society (1890), of the Science Society (1900) and he was a member of the Natural Sciences Society in Moscow (1910).

Last update: 2004, October 27
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