Brandt, Georg

Georg Brandt, (born July 21, 1694, Riddarhyttan, Sweden—died April 29, 1768, Stockholm), Swedish chemist who, through his discovery and isolation of cobalt, became the first person to discover a metal unknown in ancient times.

In 1727 Brandt was appointed director of the chemical laboratory of the Council of Mines, Stockholm, and three years later became warden of the Royal Mint. He discovered and named cobalt in 1730. His findings on the composition and solubility of arsenic compounds were published in 1733; and he then pursued research on antimony, bismuth, mercury, and zinc. His work on methods of producing hydrochloric, nitric, and sulfuric acids was published in 1741 and 1743. One of the first chemists to completely forswear alchemy, he devoted his later years to exposing fraudulent alchemical processes for producing gold.