Gadolin was fluent in Latin, Finnish, Russian, German, English and French in addition to his native Swedish. He was a candidate for the chair of chemistry at Uppsala in 1784, but Johann Afzelius was selected instead. Gadolin became an extraordinary professor at Åbo in 1785 (an unpaid position). Beginning in 1786, he made a chemical "grand tour" of Europe, visiting universities and mines in various countries. He worked with Lorenz Crell, editor of the journal "Chemische Annalen" in Germany, and with Adair Crawford and Richard Kirwan in Ireland.