Richard Abegg
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.031393
Born on 9 January 1869 in Danzig, Prussia (now Gdańsk, Poland), Richard Abegg was a chemist who is best known for his research into valence. He received his doctorate from the University of Berlin in 1891. Abegg studied the properties of solutions and determined that adding solute lowers the temperature at which the solvent freezes. He also researched valence, the ability of atoms to combine with one another. Around the turn of the century Abegg determined that a configuration of eight outer (or valence) electrons provides atoms with the most stability. That insight was particularly impressive considering the electron had just been discovered in 1897. Abegg died in 1910 at age 41 when the balloon he was riding in crashed.
Date in History: 9 January 1869
