Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Michael Donnay and Michelle Francl want chemists to share the stories behind the work they do, and not be afraid to identify the heroines and heroes — and their epic adventures — that paved the way.
Although Friedrich Stromeyer is best remembered for writing one of the founding works in plant geography — the forerunner to modern-day biogeography — his contributions to chemistry should not be underestimated, argues Malte C. Ebach.
It is easy to overlook just how important temperature is when it comes to chemistry and Michelle Francl wonders if thermometers had a role in turning alchemists into chemists.