Editing Hermann Kolbe (section)

==Life==

Kolbe was born in Elliehausen, near [[Göttingen]], [[Kingdom of Hanover]] (Germany) as the eldest son of a [[Protestant]] pastor. At the age of 13, he entered the Göttingen Gymnasium, residing at the home of one of the professors. He obtained the leaving certificate (the [[Abitur]]) six years later. He had become passionate about the study of [[chemistry]], matriculating at the [[University of Göttingen]] in the spring of 1838 in order to study with the famous chemist [[Friedrich Wöhler]].<ref name="Britannica bio">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hermann-Kolbe |title=Hermann Kolbe – German chemist |author=Alan J. Rocke|access-date=28 July 2016}}</ref>

In 1842, he became an assistant to [[Robert Bunsen]] at the [[University of Marburg|Philipps-Universität Marburg]]. He took his doctoral degree in 1843 at the same university. A new opportunity arose in 1845, when he became assistant to [[Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair|Lyon Playfair]] at the new ''Museum of Economic Geology'' in London and a close friend of [[Edward Frankland]]. From 1847, he was engaged in editing the ''Handwörterbuch der reinen und angewandten Chemie'' (''Dictionary of Pure and Applied Chemistry'') edited by [[Justus von Liebig]], [[Wöhler]], and [[Johann Christian Poggendorff]], and he also wrote an important textbook. In 1851, Kolbe succeeded Bunsen as professor of chemistry at Marburg and, in 1865, he was called to the [[Leipzig University|Universität Leipzig]]. In 1864, he was elected a foreign member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rocke |first=Alan J. |title=The Quiet Revolution: Hermann Kolbe and the Science of Organic Chemistry |location=Berkeley |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-520-08110-9}}</ref> He was elected as a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1874.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1874;smode=advanced;startDoc=1|access-date=5 May 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

In 1853, he married Charlotte, the daughter of General-Major Wilhelm von Bardeleben. His wife died in 1876 after 23 years of happy marriage. They had four children.