The Chair of Inorganic Chemistry

The history of our chair begins with Emil Erlenmeyer. When the Royal Polytechnic School in Munich, following the model of the Technical Universities in Prague (founded in 1806), Vienna (1815), Karlsruhe (1825), and Zurich (1855), opened its doors in 1868, the chemist Erlenmeyer was among the 24 founding professors. He led one of the five departments, namely, the chemical-technical department, which also included Professors Georg Cajetan Kaiser (Applied Chemistry), Carl Stölzel (Chemical Technology, Metallurgy, and Practical Technical Chemistry), and Carl Haushofer (Mineralogy, Mineralogical Exercises, and Iron Metallurgy). Erlenmeyer represented Experimental Chemistry as well as Analytical and Practical Chemistry. Carl Max von Bauernfeind, Professor of Geodesy, Practical Geometry, and Road and Railway Construction, was the first director of the university, which was officially inaugurated on December 19, 1868, by Minister von Schlör. Its founding mission was to provide 'a complete theoretical education for the technical profession in the knowledge required for a general education in the disciplines based on exact sciences and drawing arts.'

The establishment of the Royal Polytechnic School was a direct consequence of the establishment of Real Gymnasiums in Bavaria in 1864, from which the first students were expected in 1868. Munich was able to prevail over Nuremberg in the competition for the location only because the city was home to the university (since 1825), the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (since 1759), and the largest collections and libraries in the Kingdom of Bavaria. In the first years, Erlenmeyer delivered 6 hours of lectures per week in the winter semester and 4 hours per week in the summer semester, covering Inorganic and Organic Experimental Lectures. He also conducted the 'Colloquium on Analytical Chemistry' (2-3 hours per week) and a 'Chemical Privatissimum' (in the summer semester, 'on mono- and polybasic inorganic and organic acids in theoretical and practical contexts'), in addition to supervising practical exercises in the chemical laboratory: 'Monday to Friday from morning until evening.' Chemical technology, including metallurgy, also had a high priority from the beginning; Carl Stölzel was responsible for this and was a sought-after consultant for the industrial enterprises of Bavaria organized in the Polytechnic Association. Due to his connections with the metal industry in Nuremberg, he played a significant role in the establishment of the Industrial Museum."

Lehrstuhlchronik der Anorganischen Chemie der TH/TU München (Autor Prof. Herrmann)  (in German)

Author: Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann (former president of TUM and former Chairholder of Inorganic Chemistry) - Translated into English