CHEMIST

Kristian Birkeland

1867 - 1917

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Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland (born 13 December 1867 – 15 June 1917) was a Norwegian space physicist, inventor, and professor of physics at the Royal Fredriks University in Oslo. He is best remembered for his theories of atmospheric electric currents that elucidated the nature of the aurora borealis. In order to fund his research on the aurorae, he invented the electromagnetic cannon and the Birkeland–Eyde process of fixing nitrogen from the air. Birkeland was nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Kristian Birkeland is the 338th most popular chemist (down from 304th in 2019), the 120th most popular biography from Norway (down from 93rd in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Norwegian Chemist.

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Among CHEMISTS

Among chemists, Kristian Birkeland ranks 338 out of 602. Before him are Frederick Abel, François-Marie Raoult, Martin Lowry, Roderick MacKinnon, Nils Gabriel Sefström, and Clemens Winkler. After him are Erwin Chargaff, Max Joseph von Pettenkofer, Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, Pierre Joseph Pelletier, Morten P. Meldal, and Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1867, Kristian Birkeland ranks 58. Before him are Frederick Keeping, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Sundance Kid, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Henry L. Stimson, and Henri Gouraud. After him are Marcel Schwob, Jeanne Lanvin, Masaoka Shiki, Carl Laemmle, Cy Young, and Marie Krøyer. Among people deceased in 1917, Kristian Birkeland ranks 40. Before him are Dadabhai Naoroji, Gustav von Schmoller, Carolus-Duran, Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev, Sarah Aaronsohn, and Matthias Zurbriggen. After him are Léon Flameng, Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz, Octave Lapize, Eugène Grasset, and Ivan Goremykin.

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In Norway

Among people born in Norway, Kristian Birkeland ranks 120 out of 1,039. Before him are Rikard Nordraak (1842), Ole Bull (1810), Ole Gunnar Solskjær (1973), Jonas Gahr Støre (1960), Ole-Johan Dahl (1931), and Axel Paulsen (1855). After him are Stein Rokkan (1921), Magnus, Duke of Saxony (1042), Christian Sinding (1856), Carsten Borchgrevink (1864), Erna Solberg (1961), and Ole Einar Bjørndalen (1974).

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Among CHEMISTS In Norway

Among chemists born in Norway, Kristian Birkeland ranks 3. Before him are Odd Hassel (1897), and Lars Onsager (1903). After him are Peter Waage (1833).

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