Immortal fame of the Swedish apothecary and chemist: Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) in the literature between the 19th and 21th centuries

Resumen

In this article the literature on Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) is reviewed, including books on chemistry and the history of chemistry, published between the 18th and the 21st century in different countries in order to: 1) familiarize readers with the names of authors of biographies and biographical notes about Carl Wilhelm Scheele, published in books in 1833-2017, 2) discusse the priority problem for the discovery of oxygen by Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) and Scheele, 3) familiarize readers with literature sources regarding Scheele's letter to Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794), written on September 30, 1774, 4) show the causes of Scheele’s premature death, 5) familiarize readers with opinions about Scheele expressed by chemists in 1819-1942. To convey the atmosphere in which the authors of books in various countries created them, as well as to express their feelings about Scheele, and in order to avoid unintentional transformations of their thoughts, in this article, authors words are quoted in literal wording. Their reading may be helpful in the education of the students of chemistry, because looking at certain issues through the prism of the history of science will certainly facilitate the acquisition and understanding the knowledge by them. This article will be a source of reflection regarding the history of chemistry, in which Scheele, Priestley and Lavoisier were active.