Ostwald, Wilhelm, << OHST vahlt, VIHL hehlm >> (1853-1932), a German chemist, writer, and teacher, won the 1909 Nobel Prize for chemistry. He received the award mainly for his studies in surface phenomena and speeds of chemical reactions. Ostwald wrote one of the early books on electrochemistry. His research on the oxidation of ammonia helped Germany make explosives during World War I (1914-1918). Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald was born on Sept. 2, 1853, in Riga, Latvia. He died on April 4, 1932.
