Anniversaries: 1999

Chemical Education Today

Anniversaries: 1999 by Paul F. Schatz 1974 (25 years ago)

William Coolidge (1873–1974). American chemist who developed a method for making tungsten ductile and, thus, suitable for use as filaments in light bulbs. Also noted for developing the “Coolidge” X-ray tube. {1940, 17, 190} Lyman Craig (1906– 1974). American chemist who developed the “countercurrent” distribution technique for separating compounds. {1962, 39, 97; 1962, 39, 539; 1975, 52, Microstructures of tungsten at 258} various steps in preparing filaSir James Chadwick ments of ductile tungsten. The (1891–1974). English top figure is the microstructure physicist who discovered the of pressed and treated tungsten neutron (1932). He was rod (200× magnification). The awarded the 1935 Nobel lower figure is the microstructure Prize for Physics. {1962, 39, of the tungsten after swaging (being shaped with a special 638} tool or die) at elevated temperaPatrick Maynard ture. {1940, 17, 190} Stuart Blackett (1897– 1974). English physicist who was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize for Physics for his studies of elementary atomic particles, such as the positron, using a cloud chamber. Satyendranath Bose (1894–1974). Indian physicist and mathematician whose original paper was generalized by Einstein to a type of quantum statistics called Bose–Einstein statistics. This theoretical treatment was confirmed in 1998 by the isolation of a Bose–Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms. {1980, 57, 467} 1949 (50 years ago)

Andre-Louis Debierne (1874–1949). French chemist who worked with Pierre and Marie Curie. He discovered the element actinium (1899) and, working with Marie Curie, prepared radium in metallic form in 1910. He was a student of Charles Friedel. Friedrich Bergius (1884–1949). German chemist who developed industrial processes for converting coal and heavy oil into gasoline using high-pressure hydrogenation. He was awarded the 1931 Nobel Prize for Chemistry (shared with Karl Bosch). {1949, 26, 508; 1988, 65, 749} Frederic Stanley Kipping (1863–1949). English chemist known for his pioneering work with organosilicon compounds. Since silicon, like carbon, is tetravalent, one of the motivating forces behind Kipping’s work was to prepare stereoisomeric organosilicon compounds in an extrapolation 8

of the theories proposed by van’t Hoff and LeBel for the stereoisomerism in carbon compounds (see 1874 in Other Historical Events). {1965, 42, 41; 1980, 57, 165, 334} Leonor Michaelis (1875–1949). German-American chemist who developed the Michaelis–Menten equation for describing enzyme-catalyzed kinetics. {1946, 23, 317; 1992, 69, 981} 1899 (100 years ago)

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–1899). German chemist who developed the gas burner with his name. Working with Gustav Kirchhoff, they invented the technique of spectroscopy. {1951, 28, 267; 1956, 33, 20} Sir Edward Frankland (1825–1899). English chemist who was a pioneer in the field of organometallic compounds, synthesizing compounds such as diethyl zinc. In 1852, he announced his theory of valence, which laid some of the groundwork for the development of the periodic table by Mendeleev. Frankland was a student of Bunsen. {1969, 46, 764} Charles Friedel (1832–1899). French chemist who, with James Crafts, invented the important organic synthetic reaction that bears their names. {1949, 26, 3} Lars Fredrik Nilson (1840–1899). Swedish chemist who discovered the element scandium. Paul Muller (1899–1965). Swiss chemist who discovered the insecticidal properties of DDT, a compound first synthesized in 1874. He was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for this discovery. {1974, 51, 198; 1992, 69, 362} Fritz Lipmann (1899–1986). German-American biochemist who was awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on acetylcoenzyme A (shared with Krebs). 1874 (125 years ago)

Karl Bosch (1874–1940). German chemist who developed the Haber process for producing ammonia from nitrogen into a industrial-scale process. He was awarded the 1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with high-pressure reactions (shared with Bergius). Chaim Weismann (1874–1952). Russian-British-Israeli chemist who developed fermentation processes for the synthesis of many useful materials. In 1948, he became the first president of Israel.

At the end of some of the anniversaries are references to J. Chem. Educ. papers {year, volume, page} which are relevant to the topic or person.

Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 1 January 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu

1849 (150 years ago)

Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780–1849). German chemist who discovered the catalytic properties of platinum and palladium. He invented an automatic lighter based on the ignition of hydrogen in the presence of a platinum sponge. He noted the existence of triads of elements—such as chlorine, iodine, and bromine—before the elements were organized into the periodic table by Mendeleev and Meyer. {1931, 8, 162; 1950, 27, 176} Johann Kjeldahl (1849–1900). Danish chemist noted for developing an analytical technique for measuring the amount of nitrogen in an organic compound. {1934, 11, 457; 1949, 26, 459} 1824 (175 years ago)

William Thomson (1824–1907). English mathematician and physicist who was considered to be one of the great scientists of his time. Among other things, he suggested that the temperature at which the kinetic energy of gas molecules went to zero, absolute zero, was –273 °C. Alexander Williamson (1824– 1904). English chemist whose name is given to the mixed ether synthesis which he developed. He was one of the first chemists to organize organic compounds by their structure or “type”. For example, there are two “types” of compounds with the formula C2H6O. The properties of one compound would classify it as an alcohol, and the properties of the other would classify it as an ether. Gustav Kirchhoff (1824–1887). German physicist who, working with Bunsen, developed the technique of spectroscopy. 1799 (200 years ago)

Joseph Black (1728–1799) Scottish chemist and pioneer in the study of gases who first prepared the gas carbon dioxide by heating calcium carbonate. His studies of the physical properties of matter led to the concepts of heat of vaporization and specific heat. {1935, 12, 225, 268; 1984, 61, 605}

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 76 No. 1 January 1999 • Journal of Chemical Education

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Anniversaries: 1999 Christian Schönbein (1799–1868). German-Swiss chemist who discovered nitrocellulose or guncotton. He is also credited with the discovery of ozone. {1929, 6, 432, 677} 1749 (250 years ago)

Daniel Rutherford (1749–1819). Scottist chemist who isolated and studied “phlogisticated air” when he was a student of Black. “Phlogisticated air” is now known as nitrogen. {1934, 11, 101, 314; 1935, 12, 370}

Other Historical Events 1974 (25 years ago)

Paul J. Flory wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his study of longchain molecules (polymers). {1973, 50, 732; 1977, 54, 341} Barnett Rosenberg at Michigan State University reported that cis-[Pt(NH 3 )2 Cl 2 ] was being tested against human cancers. {1976, 53, 174} Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina warned that chlorofluorocarbons (also called Freons), commonly used as spray Paul J. Flory propellants and in refrigeration, may be destroying the ozone layer in the atmosphere. {1987, 64, 387; 1977, 54, 675; 1989, 66, 338; 1990, 67, 943} Two groups reported the synthesis of element 106. A Russian group, headed by Georgi Flerov, prepared it by bombarding a lead target with chromium ions. An American group, headed by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso, prepared it by bombarding californium with oxygen atoms. {1985, 62, 392; 1985, 62, 463; 1989, 66, 379} 1949 (50 years ago)

English biochemist Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin is the first to use an electronic computer to work out the structure of an organic chemical, penicillin. {1977, 54, 214; 1982, 59, 124} Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin and the structure of free penicillin G

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Cortisone

William Francis Giauque of the United States wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his study of low-temperature chemistry. {1962, 39, 460; 1990, 67, 187} Neomycin is isolated by Selman Waksman. {1935, 12, 511} Philip Hench discovers cortisone. {1980, 57, 291} 1899 (100 years ago)

William Jackson Pope discovers the first optically active compound whose chiral center is not a carbon atom. {1989, 66, 293} IH The age of the earth had C N+ CH3 been a major controversy. On C H2C H2 one side was William CH2 Thomson (Lord Kelvin), who, in 1862, had announced that he had calculated the age of Earth to be approximately 100 million years old based on basic physical principles. His calcu- Quaternary ammonium salt resolved by William Pope. lations assumed that the earth was originally as hot as the sun, and it had been cooling steadily from that time. On the other side were geologists, such as Thomas Chamberlin, who pointed out that the ice age, which Thomson used as evidence of steady cooling, was actually several ice ages that were broken up by warmer weather. This view required a much older age for the earth and a more or less constant range in temperature, a view that required a source of heat independent of the sun. The discovery of radioactivity provided an explanation for this source of energy, something that Thomson would never accept. British physicist Ernest Rutherford observes that thorium produces a gas, which he calls thorium emanation (we now know it as radon). The same discovery is also made independently by Friedrich Ernst Dorn. {1962, 39, 287; 1977, 54, 499; 1983, 60, 646} Rutherford discovers that radioactivity from uranium has at least two different forms, which he calls alpha and beta rays.

Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 1 January 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu


J. J. Thomson measures the charge of the electron and thus completes his discovery of the electron. {1973, 50, 59} Fritz Geisel, Antoine-Henri Becquerel, and Marie Curie prove that beta rays consist of high-speed electrons. {1962, 39, 533; 1992, 69, 11}




Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff shows that the four bonding directions of the carbon atom point to the four vertices of a regular tetrahedron. Joseph Achille Le Bel independently makes the same discovery. {1952, 29, Paper models used by van’t Hoff to tetrahedral bonding of 376; 1952, 29, 379.; demonstrate carbon. {1974, 51, 2} 1956, 33, A509; 1960, 37, 467; 1974, 51, 2; 1976, 53, 153; 1987, 64, 573; 1989, 66, 30; 1991, 68, 797} Othman Zeidler synthesizes DDT. George J. Stoney estimates the charge of the then unknown electron to be about 10᎑20 coulomb, close to the modern value, and introduces the term electron.

Johann Gottlieb Gahn discovers the chemical element manganese. Priestley independently discovers oxygen two years after Scheele, but he is the first to publish his results. {1975, 52, 442; 1974, 51, 428} Scheele discovers formic acid. He also discovers chlorine, manganese, and barium, but he is not assigned the credit for any of them.

Antoine-Francois, comte de Fourcroy, isolates urea. Joseph-Louis Proust finds that the elements in a compound always combine in definite proportions by mass (Proust’s law).

Paul F. Schatz is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1396; email: [email protected].


Hippolyte Fizeau measures the velocity of light in air by measuring the time it takes for a beam of light to pass between the teeth of a rotating gear. The result, 315,000 km/ sec, is within 5 percent of today’s accepted value. William Thomson (later known as Lord Kelvin) coins the term thermodynamics in an account of Sadi Carnot’s theory of heat. 1824 (175 years ago)

The first school of science and engineering opens in the United States, later it will be called the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. {1949, 26, 346} Jöns Jakob Berzelius isolates zirconium, which was discovered in the form of zirconium oxide in 1789 by Martin Klaproth. {1948, 25, 500; 1932, 9, 1231, 1657} Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac notes that the formula for a fulminate compound reported by Justus von Liebig is identical to the formula of a cyanate compound reported by Friedrich Wöhler in the same journal. The compounds are chemically different, leading to the first discovery of chemical isomers, chemicals that differ only in molecular structure. In 1828, Wöhler prepares urea from ammonium cyanate and deals a fatal blow to the theory of vitalism. {1928, 5, 1539; 1955, 32, 403; 1956, 33, 452; 1957, 34, 141; 1964, 41, 452}

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 76 No. 1 January 1999 • Journal of Chemical Education

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Anniversaries: 1999

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