por There is famous alchemists who played an important role in the development of scientific knowledge, standing out above all in the field of chemistry, where they were key to achieving its evolution.
Human beings have always been interested in the occult, the origin and composition of things. Alchemy is not only a proto-scientific practice, but a philosophical discipline that tried to understand the composition of things in order to recreate valuable objects, such as lead-based gold.
The first indications of alchemical practices can be found in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The goal of the alchemists was the creation of the philosopher’s stone which, it was believed, could not only turn metals into gold, but also help humans achieve longevity or eternal life.
Most famous alchemists in history
1. Hermes Trismegistus
The mythical Hermes Trismegistus is considered by most alchemists as the father of this science. He is also considered knowledgeable about the history before the flood.
This legendary figure was seen as the result of the fusion of Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, and the Greek god Hermes, messenger of the Olympic gods.
It was Hermes Trismegistus who formulated the principles of alchemy: principles of gender, cause and effect, rhythm, polarity, correspondence, vibration, and spirituality.
2. Greek wise men
The Greeks, like Aristotle, Plato, and Empedocles, developed the concept that all things are made up of four elements: air, water, fire, and earth, and the three elemental principles, salt, mercury, and sulfur.
3. Geber (c. 721-c. 810)
The most famous alchemist in the Arab world was the philosopher Abu Musa al-Sufi, known as Geber in the West. This sage was born in Kufa (Iraq) and lived in Tus (Khorasan, Iran), where he established a scientific laboratory.
Geber’s works are a compilation of everything that was known about chemistry until then. Geber considered metals to be made of sulfur and mercury.
Many scientists question the existence of Geber, since it is not known where he lived, although some believe that it may have been in Seville.
His most important book is The sum of the perfections of the magisterium, since thanks to him silver nitrate was discovered. Other outstanding works of the philosopher are the seventy books, the balance book, the eastern mercury, the book of glory, The meeting book and the pure book.
4. Al-Razi (865-925)
Another famous Arab alchemist was Al-Razi, who lived in Baghdad in the 9th and 10th centuries. Razi classified materials into bodies and spirits. The bodies are stones, glass, salts and others. The spirits are mercury, sulfur, ammonia, etc.
The objective of his research was to determine the formula for the creation of gold through catalytic reactions. Al-Razi wrote a book on saline solutions.
This is considered to be related to the Arab tendency to use mineral remedies, rather than plant remedies, as in other parts of Asia.
5. Ko Hung (284 BC-364 BC)
In ancient China, alchemy was also developed in parallel. Researchers consider the 3rd century BC as the beginning of the development of alchemy in the Celestial Empire, the time when the famous alchemist Ko Hung lived.
Others consider that only a historical document, such as the imperial edict dated 144 BC, where the creation of gold is prohibited, can be considered as evidence of alchemical practices.
In the body of the Lady of Tai, discovered in an archaeological expedition and dated to the 2nd century BC, residues of pure cinnabar can be found, which according to Chinese alchemical texts, was recommended to be consumed.
6. Al-Biruni (973-1048)
In ancient India, according to the memoirs of the eleventh-century Persian physician Al-Biruni, the Hindus practiced a science similar to alchemy, which was called rasayana.
Al-Biruni was a Persian mathematician, philosopher, alchemist, physician, geographer, astronomer, physicist, pharmacist, traveler, and historian.
He was one of the most relevant intellectuals in the Islamic world, writing more than 150 works on pharmacology, history, mathematics, astrology and astronomy, of which only a fifth survived.
7. Avicenna (980-1037)
Most famous as a physician, the alchemist Abū Ali al-Husayn, known in the West as Avicenna, wrote the famous book of remedies.
This book represents a classifying study of minerals, rocks and metals. Avicenna determined that there are four types: stones, sulphides, fusible substances and salts.
He was criticized by his alchemist colleagues, as he believed that transmutation could not affect the internal nature of metals, only their appearance.
8. Theophilus Presbyter (1070-1125)
An important twelfth-century European alchemist was the German Benedictine monk Theophilus Presbyter, whose life is little known. The main treaty of him, Schedula diversarum artiumwas an important compilation of all the knowledge of the time.
In this treatise, Presbítero details chemical processes to obtain colors, a detailed description of the placement of stained glass windows and the instruments and descriptions of how different metallic objects were manufactured at that time.
9. Nicholas Flamel (c. 1330-1418)
The French alchemist is considered Nicholas Flamelalso a scribe and copyist, possessed the ability to create the philosopher’s stone.
It is said that during the Hundred Years War, Flamel obtained an ancient manuscript on alchemy and since then has dedicated his life to studying it and deciphering its mysteries. It is supposed that thanks to him he obtained an important fortune in his environment, although modest.
His goal led him to travel to Spain and meet with the most important connoisseurs of ancient Greek and Kabbalah, Judaism’s school of esoteric thought.
This character has been very influential in popular culture and is frequently mentioned in studies and novels about alchemy, such as in Foucault’s pendulumby Umberto Eco, or in harry potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
He has been awarded the deed of The book of hieroglyphic figures, considered the most famous western text on alchemy. In it, Flamel talks about his efforts to get the Philosopher’s Stone and about the creation of homunculi. A homunculus is an agent or copy of a human being.
10. Paracelsus (1493-1541)
The Swiss astrologer, physician, and alchemist Paracelsus was believed to have accomplished the transmutation of lead into gold. The name Paracelsus was adopted by the physician in honor of the Roman physician Celsus (I AD).
After receiving his doctorate in medicine at the University of Ferrara, Paracelsus devoted himself to the study of minerals and his goal was to find a way to cure all human diseases.
His main book was the big surgery, in which he defended the importance of alchemy for medicine. Thanks to his studies, Paracelsus identified the symptoms of many diseases and was the first to identify the disease due to overwork.
In the epitaph of Paracelsus in the Church of San Sebastián it is stated that he cured all kinds of horrendous diseases.
11. Saint Albert the Great (c. 1193-1280)
The philosopher, geographer and theologian Saint Albert the Great stood out for his alchemy studies. In 1250 he discovered arsenic, a toxic metalloid. Alberto Magno worked at the University of Paris, where he dedicated himself to the translation of ancient texts into Latin.
His work was more encyclopedic, he was in charge not only of classifying and describing the experiments of other alchemists, but also of adding his own considerations about them. His work laid the foundation for the work of his disciple Saint Thomas Aquinas.
He is the patron saint of students of chemical sciences, natural sciences and exact sciences.
12. Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Saint Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher and theologian who excelled in various areas of knowledge. In its Treatise on the art of alchemywhich is divided into eight chapters, Aquino deals with topics such as the manipulation of matter and its change of state (solid to liquid), and the composition of mercury and how to prepare it in the laboratory.
This treatise is preserved to this day in its entirety.
13. Roger Bacon (1214-1294)
The English scientist, theologian and alchemist Roger Bacon, better known as ‘Doctor Mirabilis’ (admirable doctor), supposedly wrote the treatise Alchemy Speculum Alchemiae. This treatise is divided into 7 chapters, in which it is explained from the definition of alchemy to how to apply alchemical knowledge in medicine.
He is also considered the author of the Voynich manuscript. Because the manuscript is in an unknown language, its possible content is only assumed based on the images it contains. His best known work is the opus maius.
14. Bernard the Trevisan (1406-1490)
In the fifteenth century lived the famous adventurer Trevisano. This Venetian alchemist was introduced by his father to alchemical science and studied al-Razí and Geber.
He traveled through Europe and Asia for sixty years looking for the secret of the philosopher’s stone. It is considered that at the age of 82, before dying on the island of Rhodes, he discovered the secret of transmutation.
15. George Ripley (c. 1415-1490)
In the fifteenth century also lived the English alchemist George Ripley, author of The alchemist’s compendium, The twelve doors that lead to the discovery of the philosopher’s stone and Liber Duodecem Portarum.
All his works, in addition to his generous donations, made the society of the time believe that Ripley had really discovered the secret of transmutation.
It is said that Ripley donated generous sums to the knights of the island of Rhodes so that they would fight against the Ottoman Empire. Thanks to his experiments, antimony became a popular remedy in Europe.
16. Arnau de Vilanova (1238-1311)
The prominent doctor Arnau de Vilanova treated important personalities of the clergy and the monarchy of his time, earning the favor of the latter. He is the author of the works Medicinalium introductionum speculum, Regimen Sanitatis ad regum Aragonum and other treatises.
His Treatise on artificial and pharmaceutical wines, his use of alcohol in medicine and many other innovations greatly helped medicine at the time. He translated Avicenna.
17. Juan de Peratallada (or Rocatallada) (between 1302 and 1310-1366)
The French Franciscan Juan de Peratallada dedicated a large part of his life to developing the perfect formula for quintessence, which is the fifth element or ether of things.
According to Peratallada, this element can be found in the spirit of the wine, when it is distilled several times.
His research helped develop the method of distilling alcohol. He is considered one of the precursors of latroquímica.
18. Henry Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535)
Historiographer Enrique Cornelio Agrippa de Nettesheim was a leading researcher of the occult. In his work De occulta philosophia libri three Agrippa It describes in detail different occult practices, such as magic and alchemy.
Due to his ideas he was constantly persecuted in Europe.
19.John Dee (1527-1608)
The astrologer…