Carl Joseph Napoleon Balling (1805 - 1868)

Born 21 Apr 1805 in Gabrielahütten, Komotau, Bohemia, Austria

Died 17 Mar 1868 at age 62 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria

Biography

Carl was born in 1805 in Gabrielahütten, Bohemia.

From 1820 to 1823, Carl studied chemistry at the Polytechnic in Prague.

In 1833, Carl became assistant for chemistry at the Polytechnic. In 1835, he became professor of general chemistry and technical chemistry.

In 1843, Carl invented the saccharometer, now called a Balling saccharometer. It is a type of hydrometer that floats in a solution to determine its sugar concentration. Through detailed analysis, he showed how the sugar concentration changes during the brewing process. He published his first pamphlet about the saccharometer in 1843. It was titled "Die graphische und tabellarische auflösung der sacharometrischen Bierprobe zur Ersparung der umständlichern Berechnung der Resultate." Here is a link to the 1848 revision from the Polytechnic archives.

In 1854, Carl received the Knight's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order for science and art.

In 1866, Carl became Rector of the Polytechnic.

He passed away in 1868 in Prague, Bohemia.

Sources

• Wikipedia entry for "Karl Josef Napoleon Balling"
• Findagrave profile