Svante Arrhenius was a Swedish scientist born in 1859, best known for his work in physical chemistry. He developed the Arrhenius equation, which describes how temperature affects the rate of chemical reactions. His contributions laid the groundwork for modern chemical kinetics and earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1903. Arrhenius also made significant contributions to the understanding of electrolytes and their behavior in solutions. He proposed that acids and bases dissociate into ions when dissolved in water, which was a key development in the field of acid-base chemistry. His theories have had a lasting impact on both chemistry and environmental science.