From 1836 to 1839 Bunsen taught at the Polytechnic School of Kassel. After the death of Friedrich Stromeyer (1835) and before the appointment of Friedrich Wöhler (1836) to the chair of chemistry at the University of Göttigen, Bunsen temporarily took over the chair. Bunsen taught there for three years, and then accepted an associate professorship at the University of Marburg, where he continued his studies on cacodyl derivatives. In 1850 Bunsen accepted a position at the University of Wroclaw. Robert Bunsen was born as the youngest of four sons of the literature professor and librarian Christian Bunsen and Melanie Heldberg, from a family of lawyers. What was Robert Bunsen universities? [6] He developed several gas-analytical methods, was a pioneer in photochemistry, and did early work in the field of organoarsenic chemistry. Bunsen also invented the filter pump (1868), the ice calorimeter (1870), and the vapour calorimeter (1887). Furthermore, he investigated eruptive rocks and feldspars from Iceland to learn their chemical composition. Bunsen and Kirchhoff found two new chemical elements in the spectral apparatus: Rubidium and caesium. He chiefly concerned himself with experimental and analytical work. While Bunsen’s baptismal entry and a handwritten curriculum vitae refer to March 30, 1811, several reference works mention March 31 as the date of birth, on which Bunsen, according to his biographer Georg Lockemann, also celebrated his birthday in later years. After graduation he continued his studies at Paris, Berlin and Vienna, and in 1833 began his career as lecturer on chemistry at Göttingen. In 1841 he invented a carbon-zinc electric cell (battery) known by his name. He was promoted to full professorship in 1841. --, Today in Science History®  ©  1999-2020 by Todayinsci ®. With a large battery of the zinc-carbon cells, Bunsen began, in [p.461] 1844, his studies of the arc light, obtained with different metals volatilized at the electrodes, viewing these colored flames with a prism and noting the characteristic bright lines obtained. DEATH AND LEGACY. The Bunsen–Kirchhoff Award for spectroscopy is named after Bunsen and Kirchhoff. (1882) Robert Bunsen is a member of Scientists Does Robert Bunsen Dead or Alive? Announcing our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! For this work, Bunsen and his laboratory assistant, Peter Desaga, had perfected a special gas burner by 1855, which was influenced by earlier Models. Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; German: ['b?nz?n]; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. Bunsen investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. During his first work on blast furnaces, Bunsen discovered that 75% of the calorific value of coal was not used. Never married, he lived for his students, with whom he was very popular, and his laboratory. A long collaboration with Henry Enfield Roscoe began in 1852, in which they studied the photochemical formation of hydrogen chloride (HCl) from hydrogen and chlorine. Robert Bunsen passed away on month day 1945, at death place, Illinois. While at University of Marburg, Bunsen participated in the 1846 expedition for the investigation of Iceland's volcanoes. His study of the emission spectra of heated elements led to the discovery of caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861). Bunsen did not offer any special training in organic chemistry, which was sometimes criticized. In the lower part of the flame cone he was able to reduce mineral salt samples (for example bismuth salt to elemental bismuth), in the upper part of the flame the sample was oxidized (bismuth salt to white bismuth oxide). After taking a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Göttingen (1830), Bunsen taught at the Universities of Marburg and Breslau and elsewhere. Robert Bunsen was born at Göttingen in 1811, in what is now the state of Lower Saxony in Germany. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. On Iceland Bunsen examined the Great Geyser, where he identified hydrogen, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide in the escaping gases. Obituary from The American Journal Of Pharmacy (October, 1899). Robert Bunsen was a German chemist who developed the Bunsen burner with his laboratory assistant Peter Desaga. Bunsen was born March 31, 1811, at Göttingen, where his father was a professor of Oriental Literature. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Bunsen, Famous Scientists - Biography of Robert Bunsen, Science History Institute - Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff, h2g2 - Biography of Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up).