The History of Ozone. the Schönbein Period, 1839-1868

Ozone has been known as an accompaniment to electrical storms during all the history of mankind. Its first identification as a distinct chemical compound was due to Christian Friedrich Schönbein (1) (Fig. 1), Professor of Chemistry at the University of Basel from 1828. To a considerable extent he dominated the study of ozone chemistry until his death in 1868. The molecular formula of ozone was determined in 1865 by Soret and confirmed by him in 1867, shortly before Schönbein’s death. The year 1999 marks the 200th anniversary of Schönbein’s birth and is a fitting time for a presentation of the early history of ozone from the time of his first report through the rest of his lifetime. It is interesting to note that at least 13 citations of Schönbein’s work on ozone have appeared in the chemical literature during the period 1988-98.