A CHEMISTTOURIST in GERMANY* ERNEST R. SCHIERZ The University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming
Withour any claim to com~letemssthe author calls attention to some of the monuments and memorials ereded to honor the memory of outstanding chemists of Germany.
I
N THE opinion of many of the present and past leaders of our science the historical viewpoint is a material aid to the proper understanding of the science. The many papers that have appeared in the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION concerning the makers of chemistry bear evidence to the growing interest in the subject. No doubt, anecdotes concerning the habits of these men and women and the laboratories (1) in which they worked are of greater interest than what an artist has captured in stone or bronze. Many times, however, the memorial to an individual directs attention also to his outstanding contributions. In what follows, attention will he called to some of the monuments of interest to the chemist-tourist in Germany. In Berlin, aside from the large statues of E. Fischer and A. W. von Hofmann, the latter in the Hofmann House, may be found bronze reliefs of two "overshadowed chemists," Marggraf and Achard. These are on the fasade of the laboratory of the Academy of Sciences in Dorotheen Strasse, where the former was director from 1767 until his death in 1z82. Marggraf will he remembered for his work in d~stmguishing some of the alkaline earth metals and his discovery and isolation of sugar in beets. The development of the process of extraction to make it industrially feasible is the work of Marggraf's pupil-friend, and successor, Achard, under the stimulation of the continental blockade. Munich has been since 1852 a center of great chemical activity. That year marks the arrival of Liebig and the foundation of the laboratory now known as the Chemical Laboratory of the State. This laboratory has been under the direction of Liebig, Baeyer, and Willstatter and is now directed by H. Wieland. In this a t y of art may be found statues of the Americanborn Count Rumford, near the National Museum,
* The author will he glad to exchange prints of snapshots reproduced in this article with other callectors. Snapshots of several French monuments are also available for exchange.
Liebig and Pettenkofer in the Maximilian Platz, and Baeyer in the conrt adjoining the laboratory. The monument to Liehig (2) is one of the two (the other a t Giessen) erected by popular subscGption (140,000 Mark) by the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft in 1883. The grave of Liebig is in the old SCd Friedhof. The simple stone is surmounted with a glass-encased marble bust. A replica of this bust may be seen in the stair court of the laboratory. In this cemetery are also the graves of Pettenkofer, Jolly, O h , and Fraunhofer. The statue of Baeyer (3) was erected by private subscription, the principal donor being the I. G. Farbenindustrie. In Heidelberg, the city immortalized by A. Jensen, in the short poem:
Alt Heidelberg du feine, D u Stadt an Ehren reich, A m Neckar und am Rheine Keine andere kommt dir gleich. Bunsen directed the destinies of the Chemical Institnte for thirty-seven years. His memory is honored
17
ALL SAINTS DAY 1929.
THE
WKEATH ON THE GRAVE PLACED THERE BY TIlE CITY OF MUNICH
R ~ ~ l g aONs FRONT OF TEE LABORATORY oa ACADEMY OP SCIENCE BRONZE
BERLIN
by a suitable monument (4) erected by popular subscription in 1908. I t stands on the road along which many tourists make their way to the ruins of the old castle, sacked by the troops of Louis XIV in 1688. At Giesseu, made famous by the laboratory of Liebig, we find a statue (5) of the master as he appeared a t the zenith of his productive career. It is in the public park along the river. One of his most noted pupils, A. W. von Hofmann, founder of the Gesellschaft and fourteen times its president, was born in Giessen. -A simple stone relief marks his birthplace. Wohler, Liebig's lifelong friend, collaborator in his saentific work and counselor in his polemical encounters is honored by a bronze statue (6) erected near the site of his activity in Gottingeu. In the nearby park is a statue of the physicists, Gauss and Weber. Coblenz, the city a t the confluence of the Moselle and Rhme has honored its famous chemist-son, Karl Fliedrich Mohr, by a monument. In addition to the bronze bust of Mohr there are two bronze reliefs.
One d e p i c t s pieces of volumetric glassware which he devised and perfected, the other his activity as a teacher. Cut in the stone a t the rear of the pedestsl --- ire --- the -..-line..
Das Erkennen der Natur
die erhnbenste Aufgabe des menschlichen Geistes. The founder of the theory of the structure of benzene stands before his Institute in Bonn. At the base of the monument of Kekule (7) is a bronze relief depicting Science presenting Industry with the benzene ring. No attempt has been made to catalog all the monuments to chemists in Germany, but rather to direct attention to a source of material of much value in the study of the history of chemistry. That this form of memorial is even today used to keep alive the memory of great chemists is evidenced by the tribute to Edgar Fahs Smith, the dean of American historians of chemistry, erected on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania (8).
KEKULBMONUMENT
IN FRONTOE THE CHEMICAL INSTITUTE
BONN
LITERATURIC CITED
(1) R. E. OESPER,"What a chemist may see in Europe," J. CHEM.EDUC..6,195-245 (Feb., 1929). (2) "Enthullung des Liebig-Denkmals*in M"nchen," Ber., 16, 3103-30 (1883). "Adolf van Baeyer." J.'CHEM. EDUC.,7,1231(3) F. HENRICH, (June, 1930). (4) Tn. CURTIUS, "Das Bunsen-Denkmal in Heidelberg," Ber., 41, 48724910 (1908); R. E. OESPER,"Robert Wilhelm Bunsen," J. CHEM.EDUC.,4,431-9 (Apr., 1927).
"Das Liebig-Denkmal in Gies$en," Ber., 23', 785-91 (1890). "Das Wbhler-Denkmal in Glittingen," ihid., 23', 829-32
\'""",. ,,P(m\
E. RIMBACH, "Das Kekul6-Denkmal in Bonn," iM., 36, 4614-40 (1913); R. E. OESPERAND L. DARMSTAEDTER, ''August von Kekulk," J. C m x . EDUC., 4, 697-702 (June. 1927). W. T. TAGGART, "Edgar Fahs Smith," ibid., 9, 619 (Ap'r., 1932).
