Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (11 July 1709 – 16 November 1785) was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist.

Wallerius was born in Stora Mellösa

Stora Mellösa

Stora Mellösa is a locality situated in Örebro Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with 780 inhabitants in 2005....

 in Närke

Närke

' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwest, and Värmland to the northwest...

, entered Uppsala University

Uppsala University

Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...

 in 1725, and graduated as magister

Magister

Magister is Latin for "master" or "teacher." It may refer to:* The Magister , an academic degreePositions or titles* A magister equitum, or Master of the Horse...

 in 1731 after studies of mathematics, physics and medicine. He continued his studies at Lund University

Lund University

Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...

, where he received his Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 degree in 1735. He became adjunct of medicine at Uppsala University in 1741 and the first holder of a new professorship of chemistry, medicine and pharmacy in 1750. He retired from the chair in 1767 and was succeeded by his student Torbern Bergman

Torbern Bergman

Torbern Olof Bergman was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist noted for his 1775 Dissertation on Elective Attractions, containing the largest chemical affinity tables ever published...

.

Wallerius is regarded as the founder of agricultural chemistry

Agricultural chemistry

Agricultural chemistry is the study of both chemistry and biochemistry which are important in agricultural production, the processing of raw products into foods and beverages, and in environmental monitoring and remediation...

, mainly based on the significance of his widely disseminated work Agriculturae fundamenta chemica (1761, published in Swedish the same year as Åkerbrukets chemiska grunder and later translated into many other languages). He published several other studies on chemical, mineralogical and geological subjects and used his own farm Hagelstena in Alsike

Alsike, Sweden

Alsike is a locality situated in Knivsta Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 1,682 inhabitants in 2005. Alsike is located about 50 km north of Stockholm and only 25 km away from Arlanda Airport. It is also the location of Alsike Abbey.-See also:...

 (south of Uppsala) as an experimental field.

In 1750, Wallerius was elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...

.

The first freestanding chemical laboratory building in Uppsala, still standing at Västra Ågatan 24 by the River Fyris

Fyris

Fyrisån is a river in the Swedish province of Uppland, which passes through the city of Uppsala and ends in Lake Mälaren....

, was erected during his time as professor.