chemist who contributed towards the discovery of oxygen
Carl Wilhelm Scheele Carl Wilhelm Scheele (German: [ˈʃeːlə], Swedish: [²ɧeːlɛ]; 9 December 1742 – 21 May 1786) was a Swedish Pomeranian and German pharmaceutical chemist. Isaac Asimov called him "hard-luck Scheele" because he made a number of chemical discoveries before others who are generally given the credit. For example, Scheele discovered oxygen (although Joseph Priestley published his findings first), and identified molybdenum, tungsten, barium, hydrogen, and chlorine before Humphry Davy, among others. Scheele discovered organic acids tartaric, oxalic, uric, lactic, and citric, as well as hydrofluoric, hydrocyanic, and arsenic acids.[1] He preferred speaking German to Swedish his whole life, as German was commonly spoken among Swedish pharmacists.[2]