Bruno Tacke
Bruno Tacke (26 August 1861 in Wissen an der Sieg – 28 October 1942 in Hohenlimburg near Hagen, Westphalia) was a German peatland (Moor) researcher and soil scientist who led the Moor-Versuchsstation in Bremen for 38 years and was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in 1928 and 1936.1 • 2 The German National Library's authority record GND 117613193 identifies him as an individualized person, a Bodenkundler (soil scientist) born 1861 and died 1942.3
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Nobel nominations | Chemistry, 1928 (No. 28-0) and 1936 (No. 26-0), both by Paul Ehrenberg; the 1936 nomination was divided between Richard Kuhn and Tacke1 • 2 |
| Doctorate | Dissertation on combustible gases in the animal organism, published in Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft 17 (2): 1827–18304 |
Life and career
Tacke's published paper carries the affiliation of the Thierphysiologischen Institut der landwirthschaftlichen Hochschule zu Berlin, the animal-physiology institute of the Berlin agricultural college, and appeared in Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft, volume 17, issue 2, pages 1827–1830; the manuscript was received on 7 August 1884.4
Scientific work
Tacke's field was moor science: the study of peatlands and their agricultural improvement.
The HathiTrust catalog holds Die naturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Moorkultur (Berlin: P. Parey, iv, 88 p., ill., 24 cm) in full view via the University of Wisconsin–Madison, cataloged under "Tacke, Bruno, 1861-".5 The two sources give different years for this book, 1929 in the library record and 1930 in the biographical entry.5
The Nobel nominations
The official Nobel nomination archive records two nominations of Tacke for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The first, nomination number 28-0 for the 1928 prize, names Bruno Tacke, male, born 1861, country Germany; the nominator was Paul Ehrenberg of Germany, a chairholder at an invited university.1 The second, for the 1936 prize, was again submitted by Ehrenberg and was divided between Richard Kuhn and Bruno Tacke.2
The co-nominee's later career gives the clearest measure of the company Tacke kept in that nomination. Richard Kuhn was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, presented in 1939; he was forced by the authorities of his country to decline the award but later received the diploma and the medal.2
By the numbers
The documented record is compact: two Nobel nominations (1928 and 1936), 38 years heading the Bremen moor research station (October 1891 to October 1929), over 300 scientific contributions, and one identifiable early research paper, the 1884 Berichte article, which shows 3 citations in the publisher's record.1 • 2 • 4
References
- Nomination Archive – Nomination for Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1928, No. 28-0, NobelPrize.org
- Nomination Archive – Nomination for Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1936, No. 26-0, NobelPrize.org
- Tacke, Bruno, GND 117613193, German National Library via lobid
- B. Tacke (1884). Ueber die Bedeutung der brennbaren Gase im thierischen Organismus. Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft 17 (2): 1827–1830.
- Catalog Record: Die naturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Moorkultur, HathiTrust Digital Library
Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Life and health scientists › Life scientists
Initially written Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026
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