Charles Frédéric Gerhardt (21 August 1816 – 19 August 1856) was a French chemist, born in Alsace and active in Paris, Montpellier, and his native Strasbourg.
Biography
He was born in Strasbourg, which is where he attended the gymnasium (an advanced academic secondary school). He then studied at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where Friedrich Walchner's lectures first stimulated his interest in chemistry. Next he attended the school of commerce in Leipzig, where he studied chemistry under Otto Linné Erdmann, who further developed his interest into a passion for questions of speculative chemistry.
Returning home in 1834, he entered his father's white lead factory, but soon found that business was not to his liking, and after a sharp disagreement with his father in his 20th year he enlisted in a cavalry regiment.