He began the formal study of chemistry at the University of Berlin in the fall of 1854, then in 1856 entered Charles Adolphe Wurtz's private laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (now the University of Paris V: René Descartes).
Han började sina formella studier av kemi vid universitetet i Berlin hösten 1854, därefter år 1856 in Charles Adolphe Wurtz 's privata laboratorium vid medicinska fakulteten i Paris (nu universitetet i Paris V: René Descartes.