Gmelin was a son of the physician, botanist and chemist
Johann Friedrich Gmelin and his wife Rosine Schott. Due to his family he early came in contact with medicine and the natural sciences, in 1804 he attended the chemical lectures of his father. In the same year Gmelin moved to Tübingen to work in the family pharmacy, he also studied at the
University of Tübingen among other relatives including Ferdinand Gottlieb Gmelin (a cousin) and
Carl Friedrich Kielmeyer (husband of a cousin). Supported by Kielmeyer, Gmelin moved to the
University of Göttingen in 1805 and later he worked as assistant in the laboratory of
Friedrich Stromeyer, by whom he successfully passed his exams in 1809. Leopold Gmelin returned to Tübingen and again heard the lectures of Ferdinand Gottlieb Gmelin and
Carl Friedrich Kielmeyer. In February 1811, Gmelin clashed with the medical student Gutike, according to an insult he challenged him to a duel, without serious injuries. Because duels were forbidden among students the incident was kept a secret at first, he nevertheless came to light. On March 10, Gmelin fled and went to
Joseph Franz von Jacquin at the
University of Vienna. Focus of his research was the
Black pigment of oxen and calves eyes, outcome of this work was also the subject of Gmelins
dissertation. In 1812, he received his doctorate in Göttingen in absentia. Until 1813, Gmelin went on an extensive study trip through Italy. After his return, he began to work as a
Privatdozent at the
Heidelberg University since the winter semester of 1813/14, at first he worked on his
Habilitation in Göttingen. On 26 September of the following year, he was appointed associate professor in Heidelberg. In the fall of 1814, he went on another educational trip to
Paris to study at the
Sorbonne, he remained there until the spring of 1815. Together with his cousin,
Christian Gottlob Gmelin he made the acquaintance of
René Just Haüy,
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac,
Louis Jacques Thénard and
Louis Nicolas Vauquelin. In 1816, Gmelin married Louise in
Heidelberg-Kirchheim, a daughter of the Kirchheimer pastor Johann Conrad Maurer, the lawyer
Georg Ludwig von Maurer became his brother-in-law. Together they had three daughters and one son, including Auguste, the future wife of the physician
Theodor von Dusch. When the chemist
Martin Heinrich Klaproth died in
Berlin in 1817, Gmelin should have succeeded him. However, he refused and became full Professor of Chemistry at the
Heidelberg University. There, a close cooperation with
Friedrich Tiedemann evolved with time. The two published "The digestion after tests" in 1826 and established the basis of the
physiological chemistry. In the field of digestive chemistry Gmelin later discovered more components of
bile and introduced
Gmelin's test. When
Friedrich Wöhler worked on complex cyanogen compounds in 1822, Gmelin assisted him and discovered the
Red prussiate. From 1833 to 1838, Gmelin owned a paper mill in the north of Heidelberg situated
Schriesheim, he had taken it over in the hope of profit. However, the work in the mill showed to be very time- and money-consuming and at the expense of his academic activity. In 1817, the first volume of Gmelin's
Handbook of Chemistry was published. By 1843, it had grown in the fourth edition to 9 volumes. In this edition Gmelin included
atomic theory and devoted much more space to the increasingly important organic chemistry. The Handbuch was published in print until the 8th edition in 1990, with an online database, which is less complete and less up-to-date than the print edition. The terms
ester and
ketone (from German
Aketon, meaning
acetone) were introduced by Gmelin. Until his death Gmelin worked on the fifth edition of the handbook, which had become a valuable source of chemical information and documentation. He also established the basis of an unambiguous classification of inorganic substances, later named the
Gmelin system. At the age of 60, Gmelin suffered a first
stroke, and another in August 1850. In both strokes the right half of his body was affected; he was able to recover from the paralysis, but remained debilitated. In the spring of 1851, Gmelin applied for retirement, which was granted a few months later. In the two following years, he suffered increasingly from the effects of a brain illness, at nearly 65 years Leopold Gmelin died in Heidelberg on 13 April 1853, and was buried at the Mountain Cemetery in Heidelberg. The grave complex is located in the department E. There also rests his wife Luise Gmelin and more family members. == Work ==