Richard Wilhelm Heinrich Abegg (9 January 1869 – 3 April 1910) was a German chemist and pioneer of valence theory. He proposed that the difference of the maximum positive and negative valence of an element tends to be eight. This has come to be known as Abegg's rule. He was a gas balloon enthusiast, which caused his death at the age of 41 when he crashed in his balloon in Silesia.
Abegg received his PhD on 19 July 1891 as the student of August Wilhelm von Hofmann at the University of Berlin. Abegg learned organic chemistry from Hofmann, but one year after finishing his PhD degree he began researching physical chemistry while studying with Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald in Leipzig, Germany. Abegg later served as private assistant to Walther Nernst at the University of Göttingen and to Svante Arrhenius at the Stockholm University.
Abegg discovered the theory of freezing-point depression and anticipated Gilbert Newton Lewis's octet rule by revealing that the lowest and highest oxidation states of elements often differ by eight. He researched many topics in physical chemistry, including freezing points, the dielectric constant of ice, osmotic pressures, oxidation potentials, and complex ions.
Personal life and education
Richard Abegg was the son of Wilhelm Abegg and Margarete Friedenthal. He had a brother, Wilhelm Abegg, who became the Prussian Secretary of State.
Work
During school, Abegg fulfilled his duties in the military. In 1891, he became an officer of the German Reserves. In 1900, he became an Oberleutnant in the Reserves in the 9th Regiment of Hussars. During this year, he made his first flight in a balloon, for military purposes. Balloon flights became a frequent pastime of both Abegg and his wife. He made many scientific observations during his subsequent flights, which were never published.
In 1894, Abegg worked as an assistant to Walther Nernst, one of the founders of physical chemistry and, at the time, Professor of Physical Chemistry. In 1897, he took a position as a professor of chemistry at the University of Breslau. Two years later, Abegg was promoted to a Privatdozent (chemistry chair).