Svante Arrhenius
1859–1927 · Swedish · Victorian Era / Edwardian Era
Known for: Developed electrolytic dissociation theory and first predicted global warming from CO2
Svante Arrhenius's doctoral thesis on electrolytic dissociation was nearly rejected (lowest passing grade) but later won him the Nobel Prize. In 1896, he was the first scientist to calculate the greenhouse effect of CO2 on global temperature.
He predicted that doubling CO2 would raise temperatures by 5-6 degrees—remarkably close to modern estimates. He thought this would be beneficial. He was wrong about that part.
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