Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1887. 
Obituary. 
383 
OBITUARY. 
Georg  Christoph  Wittstein  died  at  his  residence  in  Munich,  June  2,  in  the 
seventy-eighth  year  of  his  life.  Born  in  Miinden,  Hannover,  January  25thr 
1810,  he  received  his  education  at  the  classical  school  (gymnasium)  of  his 
native  city,  with  which  his  father  was  connected  as  teacher  of  mathematics. 
At  the  age  of  14  he  entered  upon  his  apprenticeship  lasting  five  years,  was 
then  assistant  in  Clausthal,  Giistrow  and  Hannover,  passed  in  the  latter  city 
in  1834  the  state's  examination,  and  in  the  fall  of  1835  went  to  the  Univer- 
sity of  Munich  to  further  pursue  his  studies.  While  a  student  here  he  was 
awarded  (Aug.  12,  1836)  the  prize  (33  florins)  offered  by  the  Society  of  Phar- 
maceutical Students  in  Munich,  for  an  essay  on  the  influence  of  ammonia 
and  ammonium  salts  upon  the  solubility  of,  in  water  insoluble,  oxides  and 
salts.  The  judges  in  their  report  stated,  among  other  things,  that,  although 
temperature,  concentration  and  quantitative  proportions  had  not  been 
sufficiently  considered,  yet  the  researches  had  evidently  been  made  by  a 
thinking,  well-informed  young  chemist,  from  whose  diligence  science  might 
expect  much  enrichment  in  the  future.  This  prediction  has  been  well  ful- 
filled by  a  long,  industrious  and  useful  life.  After  obtaining  the  degree  of 
doctor  of  philosophy,  he  remained  with  Professor  J.  A.  Buchner  for  four- 
teen years  as  his  assistant  and  superintendent  of  the  chemical  laboratory. 
In  1851,  he  accepted  a  call  as  professor  of  chemistry,  technology  and  natu- 
ral history  to  the  district  school  and  agricultural  institute  at  Anspach,  but 
after  two  years  returned  to  Munich,  where  he  has  since  resided  and  labored 
for  many  years  as  private  teacher  and  analyst. 
His  first  literary  work  was  an  essay  on  impurities  in  commercial  zinc  and 
zinc  sulphate,  published  in  1836  in  Buchner's  Repertorium  lv,  and  his  first 
critical  review  of  a  book  appeared  in  the  following  year  {ibid.  lxi).  During 
the  following  nearly  forty  years  these  labors  were  continued,  since  the  be- 
ginning of  1852  in  the  "  Vierteljahres-Schrift  fiir  practische  Pharmacie," 
which  periodical  he  conducted  for  twenty-two  years.  Aside  from  his  jour- 
nalistic labors  Professor  Wittstein  was  also  engaged  in  other  literary  works, 
two  of  which  have  been  translated  into  the  English  language ;  one  on  Prac- 
tical Pharmaceutical  Chemistry  in  1853  by  L.  Darby,  and  the  other  on  the 
Organic  Constituents  of  Plants,  more  recently,  by  Baron  von  Miiller.  In  the 
German  language  there  were  also  published  from  his  pen  an  etymological 
botanical  dictionary ;  qualitative  chemical  analysis  (1851) ;  outlines  of  chem- 
istry (1852) ;  refutation  of  the  theorv  of  chemical  types  (1856) ;  secret  nos- 
trums (4.  edit.  1876) ;  articles  of  food  and  drink  (1878) ;  compendium  of 
chemicals  (1879)  ;  translation  of  Plinius'  natural  history  (1880-1882) ;  phar- 
macognosy of  the  vegetable  kingdom  (1882),  and  general  indices  to  several 
serial  publications. 
The  deceased  was  an  honorary  member  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical 
Association,  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  and  of  other  pharmaceu- 
tical societies  of  America. 
Methodical,  careful  and  painstaking  as  an  investigator;  clear,  accurate  and 
reliable  as  an  author;  just  and  sincere,  though  occasionally  too  severe  and 
