DAILY CHEMICAL ANNIVERSARIES AS A TEACHING TOOL*)+ ERNEST H. HUNTRESS Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
"Commemorationdays, festival8 which r a k u the past and
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HIS calendar of the anniversaries of men distimguished for their contributions to chemistry and related sciences has been prepared as the result of the author's hobby of noting the birthdays of those men whose work has come up in the teaching of cbemistry, particularly organic chemistry. As the number of entries accumulated, it became evident that a calendar could be prepared such that each day of the year might recall the anniversary of birth (or death) of distinguished contributors to chemistry, or related fields. The present list is offered to teachers, with the belief that by appropriate use of opportunity the material can be used as a teaching tool. In the scientific periodical literature there is a wealth of biographical material represented in the necrologies, obituaries, and sketches of contemporaries. There is, furthermore, an abundant supply of portraits which in many journals are the finest sort. Unfortunately, this material is not adequately indexed, and it was the original intention to publish with this calendar a brief reference to sources of such pictures in the regular periodical literature available in most scientific libraries. Due to restrictions of journal space, however, the thousands of references collected by the author cannot be printed here. This calendar includes names both of historical and contemporary interest. An effort was made to obtain data on every worker with whose name some type of reaction, law, principle, unit, method, piece of apparatus, outstanding discovery, industrial achievement, etc., is commonly associated. Both present and past workers in chemistry (organic, inorganic, physical, analytical) are included, together with such of those from the allied fields of physics, mathematics, biology, geology, medicine, and engineering as have contributed to chemical progress. Many names which should be included in such a list have been omitted because data on birthdays were not available. Such entries as are given will serve to provide a focus from which teachers
suruey what has been done, are teachers of the future." F. Haber
can find inspiration and students can measure the growth of their chemical acquaintance and the breadth of their knowledge. In view of the impossibility of citing references to specificbiographies, it may be desirable to indicate some of the principal sources of biographical studies and portraits in the periodical literature. Perhaps the most fruitful individual source (particularly in organic chemistry) is in the Berichte der deutschen Chemische Gesellschaft. The generous allotment of space devoted to biographical purposes and the splendid portraits might well be emulated by other chemical societies. Particular attention should be called to the large special number issued as a part of the Berichte for 1918, which includes an index of all biographical memoirs published in that journal up to that time. The Bulletin de la Soci6tb Chimique de France, the Journal of the Chemical Society (London), and occasionally the Proceedings section of our own Journal of the American Chemical Society are valuable. The Royal Society of London has always carried biographies and portraits of its fellows, and since 1932 these have been issued as a separate journal entitled Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. The JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION has many articles and portraits and particularly for contemporaries the pages of the Scientific Monthly and the American Contemporaries series published by Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (since 1934 in the N m s Edition) are invaluable. Other regular journals whose pages have many times proved fertile fields include Science, Nature, Naturwissenschaften, Zeitschrift far technische Physik, Zeitschrift far wissenschaftliche Photographie, Photophysik und Photochemie, Transactions of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (frontispieces). Mikrochentie, Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists, Helvetica Chimica Acta, Recueil des travaux chimigues des Pays-Bas, Chemiker Zeitung, Zeitschrift far anorganische und allgemeine Chemie, Zeitschrift fkr analytische Chemie, Zeitschrift f f i Elektrochemie und angewandte fihysikalische Chemie, Chemisch Weekblad,Photo* Copyright 1937 by Ernest H. Huntress (including text and calendar). Reprintsmay be obtained at forty centsasingle copy graphische Korrespondenz, Journal of the Association of and thirty-five cents apiece for copies in lots of two or more from Oficial Agricultural Chemists, etc. This list is not inthe Journal of Chemical Education, 20th and Northampton Sts , tended to be complete but merely suggestive. Easton. Pa. Following the usual practice the dates given by the t Contribution No. 150 from the Research Laboratory of Orbiographer; on the ba'is of the calendars-then in use ganic Chemistry. 328
have been retained, except that when the date of birth was definitely stated to be on the Old Style or Julian calendar it has been translated to the New Style or present Gregorian basis. Such cases arise mostly with scientists of Russian origin. No attempt has been made to take account of this calendar ditference for other countries, or for any case where no specific designation of the type of calendar was given in the original sources. In the tables of the calendar a serious effort has been made to establish the accuracy of the dates given. It is surprising how divergent the published information can be, even for as definite a matter as a birthday. Naturally, most cases of this sort are foundin the oldest references. The dates of death, cross references to which are included to extend the utility of this compilation, are even more di5cult to establish. Many obituary notices fail to specify this important date; sometimes ambiguity arises because death occurred during the night and both of the adjacent days appear according to various accounts. Sometimes only the date of the funeral is given. Sometimes death occurred during a journey to a foreign country with resultant vagueness in the record. So far as the author is aware there exists no previous calendar of this kind as applied to chemists. Such de-
vices are well recognized in general historical study, and some large encyclopaedias of biography include a conspectus covering the general field. It is hoped that teachers will find this chemical anniversary calendar of interest and value. The author will be grateful for corrections or suggestions,for data with regard to names not appearing in this list, and for iUustrations of ways in which the list may prove of value in particular groups. I t is evident that this kind of calendar cannot become obsolete. The facts here included will not change with time. By small effort it can be kept up to date and new names added according to the special interests of each user. The biographical accounts may be of particular interest to language classes in scientific courses. It is easy to locate material in German, French, Italian, Dutch, and other national journals which is of real interest and great permanent value to the student. Many of the biographies include sections on the chemical work of the scientists and these are particularly interesting and valuable to students with appropriate training. Graduate students reading for language examinations can combine business and pleasure in reading of the life and work of outstanding men.
DAILY ANNNERSARY CALENDAR FOR CHEMISTS
For each day of the year, the names of those scientists for whom it represents a birthday anniversary are given in full. The year of birth appears in the left hand column; the date of death in the right hand column. To increase the utility of the -
