T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R l A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M l S T R Y
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Val. 9, No. z
PERKIN MEDAL AWARD
The Perkin Medal for 1917 was conferred on Ernst Twitchell, Ph.D., for his distinguished services in the field of fats and their saponification, at the regular meeting of the New York Section of the Society of Chemical Industry held a t the Chemists’ Club, January 19, 1917. Dr. Jerome Alexander, Chairman of the Section, presided and delivered the introductory address ; the presentation address was made by Prof. C. F. Chandler, Senior American Past President of the Society of Chemical Industry. The acceptance of the medal by Dr. Twitchell was followed by addresses by Dr. A . C. Langmuir, Dr. Martin H. Ittner and Mr. H. B. Schmidt. A telegram from the Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society, congratulating Dr. Twitchell, was read by the chairman. The addresses are printed in full below. Previous to the meeting a reception was held in the Club’s rooms a t which the members had opportunity to meet Dr. Twitchell, this being followed by an informal dinner in the Club dining room.-EDITOR.
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS By JEROMEALEXANDER
The Jubilee of the Coal-tar Color Industry, being the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the first aniline color by Sir William Henry Perkin, was celebrated on July 26, 1906, by a large meeting at the Royal Institution in London, which was attended by representative chemists from all over the world. The epoch-making nature of Perkin’s discovery was referred to by one of the visiting German scientists, who quoted from a recent speech of Adolf von Bayer the statement that Sir William Henry Perkin was the man who lit the torch “which enlightens the path of the explorer in the dark regions of the interior of the molecule.” On October 8,1906, it was our good fortune t o have Sir William Henry Perkin with us in New York as our guest a t a large banquet given in his honor. There are many of us here who recall with pleasure his charming and modest personality. Subsequent t o the banquet the happy idea was suggested by the committee in charge, that a Perkin Medal be established to be awarded annually for the most valuable work in applied chemistry. The award may be made to any chemist residing in the United States of America for work which he has done at any time during his career, whether this work proved successful at the time of execution or publication, or whether it became valuable in the subsequent development of the industry. The first impression of the medal was presented to Sir William Henry Perkin himself, and we are now met to make the 11th Annual Award of the medal. It is but natural, therefore, that we should review briefly the awards of the past decade, mentioning, however, only the principal inventions of the respective medalists. You will soon hear details of the work of the eleventh recipient of the Medal, Dr. Ernst Twitchell. Awarded to Sir W. H. PERKIN
Date of Award 1907
J. B. F. HERRESHOFF 1908 ARNOBEHR
1909
E. G. ACHESON
1910
CHARLES M . HALL
1911
HERMAN FRASCH
1912
JAMESGAYLEY JOHNW. HYATT
1913 1914
EDWARD WESTON
1915
L. H. BAEKELAND
1316
Although we are a relatively young nation, we have certainly furnished our full share of inventions, as may be seen from the following list of epoch-making inventions by people of the United States during the last fifty years. INVENTIONS B Y PEOPLE OF THE u. s. DURINGTHE LASTFIFTYYEARS ( T a k e n from the National Geografihicol Magazine) INVENTION INVENTOR Air Brake. ............................. Celluloid. . . . . . . . . Welt Machine, . Block Signals for ys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DATE
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. . . . .Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1879 Automatic Kno Incandescent L Buttonhole Seu Chain-stitch Sh Mergenthaler.. . . . . . . . . . ..1885 Type-bar Casting. ...................... . Electric Furnace Reduction.. .............Cowles.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,1885
Electric Welding.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harveyized Armor Plate. . . . . . . Carborundum. Motion-picture Dry Air Process Artificial Graph Disk Plows (mo High-speed Steel.. .....................
. . .Thomson. . . . . . . . . .
.
.Taylor & White.. . . . . . . .,1901
It is interesting t o note that many of these inventions are chemical inventions, and that four of them have been recognized by the award of the Perkin Medal. The list of course is not complete, for there are missing among others, the aeroplane and submarine boat, which are American inventions. As compared with the above list, note the following list of important inventions that have been made during the same period by foreigners: INVENTIONSBY FOREIGNERS DURING THE LASTFIFTY YEARS
(Compiled from information furnished by the 43 examining divisions of the Potent Ofice) INVENTION Dynamite. ....................
INVENTOR NATIONALITY DATB Nobel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Graebe & Lieberm Thompson, . . . . . . . . . .,English.. . . . .I874 Otto, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..German.. ,1877
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PRINCIPAL FIELDS OR INVENTIONS Centrifugal Creamer.. .... Discoverer of First Aniline Color Electric Transformer.. . . . . Metallurgy ‘ Manganese Steel.. . . . . . . . Contact Sulfuric Acid . . . . .French.. . . . ,1886 Smokeless Powder.. . . . . . . Corn Products Industry e s t . , .English.. ... ,1888 Cyanide Metal Extrac’n Process. . Carhorundum . . . ..Austrian.. .1890 Mantle Burner.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,Austrian.. . . ,1893 By-product Coke Oven. , . . Metallic Aluminum Diesel Oil Motor.. . . . . . . . Desulfuring Oil and Subterranean Sulfur Industry Wireless Telegraphy,, , , , Dry Air Blast Electric Steel, . . . . . . . . . . . Celluloid and Flexible Roller Bearings Electrical Measurements The eleventh presentation of the Perkin Medal will now be Electro-deposition of metals made by one we all love, revere and honor. Although a little Flaming Arc tardily, we extend to him our heartiest congratulations on the ( Velox Photo Print paper Bakelite and Synthetic Resins eightieth anniyersary of his birth, with the assurance that if it / Caustic Soda Industry
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were within our power, no one else would ever preseiit the Perkiii Rledal. 1 have the pleasure of presenting, rather than
introducing, the Dean of the American chemical profession. Professor Charles Frederick Chandler. N A T l O N I L GUM AND Mrcn COMPANY ?Taw Y O R Z CITY
PRESENTATION ADDRESS By
c. 17.
A I R . CIIAnIMnN AND BROTHI:R
CsnnDrilK
CIftZirWSs:
I h . Twitchcii's ieost iinport;nit contributions to Industrial Chemistry involve new wid iniyroved methods ior the hydrolysis of oils and fats for the production 01 the free fatly acids and glrccrin. These iriethods liarw very largdy superseded theold mcthotis suclinsthat of ChevreulandGay-Lussac (in r 8 q ) , who saponified in open kettles with ; t I M i . Tliis Ijincecs was improvcd I,? Alilly in 1 x 3 1 , who rubstituled milk of lime for alkali, and Iatcr b y w n d w t i u s thc s:+ponificutioii iu closed 1- lirosiiir, reduced mount oi lime required r c n 1 of the (at lo as z IW cciil. Then came f I)iil~iuni:*iit.rirst d Imxtically iii ,842 by i l w i i , i t ) wliicli tlir iat w;i\ iapouifird hy suliuric x i t i , a i i d the fttlty acids
It is m y privilege and very pleasant diity as Senior Past l>resi. dent of the Society of Chemical Industry, rcsidinp i n lhis country, t o presen't t o Izrnst Twitchell, R.S. and li.Sc., thc eleventh impression of ai,plivd liiii tiiswvwies of the Perkin Medal, in recoglei i t i i t l Xileisens in a nition of h i s most origiiid in nliiclr the fat and valuable work iii Apcornliorcd lry superplied Chemistry. heiiicd steam a u d s u b s Dr. Twitcliell was bani in qurnt distilkition, which Cincinnati, on February WAS practiced ;it thr works 26, 1863. He ,graduated of thc I'iicis Candle Co., in 1886 from the University 1liitt.ersra. Firrally in 1854, of Cincinnati with the deTilghmnnri introduced his gree of B.S, and in r 9 r j process in which the fat, received from his elme mater cniiilsidrd in water, was the honorary degree of Docforced through u coil a t a tor of Science. On Itis tengxrature of 020' C. graduation in 1886, he was Mnrix iuund tliat by adding appointed chemist to the it little calcirim UT m a ~ l i e Emery Candle Co., of sium carbonate to the water, Cincintiati. and has been t l x teniixmtiirc and presconnected with that firm sure could be very mateever since. rially reduced to as low as At present he is Chemical eYen 3 t" 5 attnosphercs. Director to the Emery The art of saponifying Candle Company, President ilie fats lind reached this of the AmericanOilTreating stage of de>wInpmcnt when atid Hardening Company, Di. Twitchell made an and Chairman of the Board eiitirely n e w de(mtiire by ofDirectors of the Twitchell the application of uew Process Company. reagents, whicb by acting Dr. Twitchell has devoted as cntalyzcrs, w e n when the past thirty years chiefly used in sudi small proporto the chemistry of fats. tions such 3s 1 to 2 per His investigations ;tnd discellt, are ii~,ie to coveries have keen given to the fats 'completely. The the chemical world in the oprmtion may Re conform of articles in various ducted by simply boiling chemical journals and in the fat with water and the letters patent oi the United roper qiiantity of the States and other countries. ponifier." The agents In 1891 he published first empluyed by D r his method ior the dcterTwitchell wcre the sulfomination of rosin in the acids of the fatty acids, fatty acids of suai>. The ERNST TWIZCAELL. PIIRKIIU' M R m i . I s r . 1917 such :is sulk-stearic acid, method is based on the a d d , eic. Later Ur. Twitchell found that by infact, observed by him, that the fatty acids, when dissolved in s~~lio-oleic ahsolute alcohol, are readily and completely converted into troducing ail aromatic radical inio the sulio-acid, a much ethyl ethers by the action of dry hydrochloric wid gas which, morc satisfactory catalyzer was obtained~.a sulio-fatty-aromatic ore furnished by bcnzcne, acid. Such ixmnatic radicals ahsorbing the water set free, acts to reduce the reaction. On the other hand the rosin acids, under the same trcatment, re- phcnol, imd naphthalene are employed, naphthalene stearomain unchanged, and ,nay be determined voluinctrieally with sulfonic acid being a favorite catalyzer. These acids when converted into salts of such mctds as barium, standard soda solution, or gravimetrically. calcium, xmgiiesitim, aluminum, etc., can he produced as stable Lewkowitsch, in his comprehensive work 011 "Oils, Fats Wsxes." remarks: "Of all t h e methods for deterniiiiing rosiii dry powders, to be used with a suitable tiroportion 01 sulfuric ncids in the presence of fatty acids, the Twitchell method gives acid, or hydrochloric acid to make them active. I t woiild giw me great pleasure'to dwell longer on these the best results."
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