Chemistry became a major driving force of European science and industry in the 19th century.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier's new chemistry marked the transition from the phlogiston era to near
to our current understanding of chemical science. Justus von Liebig's new teaching methods by
combining lecture sessions with practical exercises contributed much to the interdisciplinary
transfer of chemical knowledge. Wilhelm Ostwald born and educated in the Baltics and early
Nobel Laureate proceeded in this way and became the founder of physical chemistry. Today we
don't see sharp borderlines between scientific disciplines. The development of chemistry
teaching at European universities with a focus on the 18th 19th century is summarised in
Chapter 2. It was shaped by protagonists striking events the establishment of chairs the
exchange of knowledge by visiting professors and students the dissemination of textbooks and
assisted by governmental and industrial funding. The examples of Germany and Spain are given
more detailed discussion Germany because of the trans-national effects of Liebig at Giessen
and Spain as at times atypical. Achievements made by the Universities in Mid and Eastern Europe
were often overshadowed by the political developments during the last 150 years. An outstanding
example of this is the University of Dorpat (now University Tartu Estonia). Its developments in
the field of chemistry is the subject of Chapter 3. It is complemented in Chapter 4 by the
example of the naturalist Alexander Petzholdt who came from Saxony taught at the University
of Dorpat and surveyed the south of the Russian Empire from an agrochemical view point. The
development of chemistry into an independent University discipline was based on the needs of
the societies. The University of Dorpat was one of the pioneers and mediated the development of
science across Europe west to east.
