The Founding of Kemistsamfundet and Its First Activities

Just before Samfundet was formed there existed a short-lived Stockholms Kemistklubb (Stockholm s Chemist Club). It was a very informal organization among chemistry students at KTH, with the aim to connect persons, who are active within or to plan to be active in chemical technical industry or analysis .Attempts were made to make the club a more formal organization, but without success. To what extent it really was a forerunner to Samfundet is difficult to say, but some of the same persons were involved in both organizations. 

In late 1883 the engineer, former pupil of KTH and active member of TF Albert Cronquist summoned a meeting to discuss the formation of an organization for chemists in Sweden. The outcome of the meeting was successful and a new organization was established. According to the statutes members should be members of TF in Stockholm or entitled thereto .  

This academic character of Samfundet is underlined by the fact that the practical aim to improve the conditions for the chemical industry in Sweden is not mentioned in the first documents. This so even if the engineers knew better than anyone else that the chemical industry in Sweden during the nineteenth century was weak. Considering themselves bearers of important knowledge necessary to develop this industry for the future of Sweden, they created Samfundet as a forum for discussing matters of common interest. 

Between 1884 and 1887 Samfundet continued as a loosely organized forum for lectures and discussions similar to the academic organizations. Topics concentrated, as expected, on how to control purity and quality of different industrial products, such as soap, the amount of sulfur and phosphorous in iron, etc. New synthetic methods were presented, as well as also questions concerning chemical products and law, and the situation for the chemical industry in Sweden. Technical matters coupled with economic considerations caused the liveliest discussions. In 1887 a discussion on the control of milk was perhaps the liveliest there ever was in the society .The most scientific topic was when Otto Pettersson and the professor at the Kungliga Lantbruksakademien (Royal Academy of Agriculture) in Stockholm L. F. Nilson presented their analysis of beryllium in September 1886. 

Samfundet wanted to enlarge its activities, and the idea of issuing a journal arose. The journal soon became one of its main tasks, but it also created problems and in reality the story of the publishing activities can be described as a failure, at the same time as it highlights some of the pecuhar features in the development of Samfundet. 

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