German-born chemist, mineralogist and botanist. Schickendantz spent over 30 years living in Argentina, where he also worked in the fields of chemistry, geology and meteorology. Born in Landau, Schickendantz studied chemistry and mineralogy at the University of Munich and at Heidelberg in the 1850s. In 1860 he attended the Karlsruhe Congress, where chemists from across Europe agreed on the adoption of atomic weights and discussed other matters of nomenclature in science. The following year he sailed for Buenos Aires, having decided to work at a copper mine. He spent six years at the mine in Pilciao, Catamarca province, developing new ways to extract gold and copper. He also carried out botanical investigations, encouraged by fellow expatriate Jorge Hieronymous, and sent collections from the region to botanists in Berlin and Paris. In particular he paid attention to medicinal plants, publishing a catalogue of them in 1881 and carrying out experiments into extracting alkaloids from the white quebracho tree (Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco Schltr.). Schickendantz also made contributions in other areas of industry and agronomy in Argentina, and held appointments at colleges in the city of Catamarca, Buenos Aires and in Tucumán. In the latter city he met Miguel Lillo, with whom he struck up a firm friendship. He died in Buenos Aires in 1896.

Sources:
R.E. Cano, "Federico Schickendantz", Catamarca Guia:
http://www.catamarcaguia.com.ar/Historia/Personalidades/FedericoSchickendantz.php, accessed 17 August 2009
W.B. Turrill, 1920, "Botanical Exploration in Chile and Argentina", Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, 2: 63
Instituto de Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia y la Tecnología:
http://www.planetariogalilei.com.ar/ameghino/biografias/schicke.htm, accessed 17 August 2009.