Cronstedt, Axel Fredrik

Born Dec. 23, 1722, in Stroepsta, Södermanland Province; died Aug. 19, 1765, in Stock-holm. Swedish mineralogist and chemist.

In 1742, Cronstedt graduated from the University of Uppsala, where he later became a professor of chemistry and mineralogy. He proposed the classification of minerals based on chemical composition. As a result, he substantially improved mineralogical nomenclature and separated fossil organisms and other geological objects from the true minerals. In 1751 he discovered the element nickel. His principal work, An Essay Toward a System of Mineralogy (1758), was translated into Russian (1776) and other European languages. Cronstedt’s description of the mines of Sweden was translated into German and published in 1781 under the title The History of Minerals in the Vastmanland and Dalecarlia Ore Mountains.