Haldor Topsøe (1842–1935)

Haldor Frederik Axel Topsøe (29 April 1842 in Skælskør, Slagelse Municipality, Denmark – 31 December 1935 in Frederiksberg, Denmark) was a Danish chemist and crystallographer. He is grandfather of the engineer Haldor Topsøe (1913–2013) who has got his name from his grandfather, and great-grandfather of the mathematician Flemming Topsøe (born 25 August 1938) and the engineer Henrik Topsøe (born 10 August 1944).

Topsøe took Magisterkonferens in chemistry in 1866 and doctorate for a chemical-crystallographical work of selenium-sour salts. He worked as assistant at the Natural History Museum 1863–1867 and at the chemistry laboratory of University of Copenhagen 1867–1873. In 1872, he received a gold medal of Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, of which he was member from 1877, for a great crystallographical-optical work together with the physicist Christian Christiansen (1843–1917). He worked as chemistry teacher at the Royal Danish Military Academy 1876–1902 where he founded a new laboratory where he continued his science works. In 1884 he participated in the oceanographic expedition to west Greenland on the gunboat HDMS Fylla.[1] He was member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1892.

Topsøe became commander of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1880.