About Karl Ernst Claus
Karl Ernst Claus, also known as Karl Klaus or Carl Claus (Russian: Карл Ка́рлович Кла́ус, romanized: Karl Karlovich Klaus; 22 January 1796 – 24 March 1864), was a Russian chemist and naturalist. Claus was a professor at Kazan University and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He was primarily known as a chemist and discoverer of the chemical element ruthenium, which he named after his homeland of Russia, but also as one of the first scientists who applied quantitative methods in botany. == Early life and education == Karl Claus was born in 1796 in Dorpat, Livonia Governorate, Russian Empire, as the son of a painter. At the age of four, he lost his father and two years later became an orphan. In 1810, he moved to Saint Petersburg and started working as an assistant in a pharmacy. Although he had not received formal education, at age 21, Claus managed to pass the State exam in the pharmacy at the Military Medical Academy of St. Petersburg, becoming the youngest pharmacist in Russia at that time. Later in 1826, he established his own pharmacy in Kazan. In 1821, Claus married Ernestine Bate whom he knew since his youth.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.