THE HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY WILLIAM MCPHERSON, k
OR10
STATE L~NIVERSITY.COLUMBUS. OH~O
Editor's Foreword: I t i s believed that a brief history of the departments of chemistry in our colleges and universities will be of interest not only to the chemists of today but also to the historians of thejuture. T o afford tha readers of the JOURNAL a n opportunity to confirm or refute that beliqf, this article. EDUCATION written at the request of the editor of the JOURNAL O F CHEMICAL as the first of a tentutively projected series, includes a brief account of the development of the Department of Chemistry at The Ohio Slnte University from the modest beginning of the department i n 1873 m.th very simple facilities and with a n enrolment of five students, LO its present laboratory costing more than $1,000,000, amply equipped for three thousand students, od with u n enrolment approximating thnt number. . . . . . .
Professor of chemistry at The Ohio State University from 1873 to 1894.
The history of the Dcpartment of Chemistry of The Ohio State University begins in 1873 with the founding of the Ohio Agricultural a n d Mechanical College under the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. Ten departments, including that of chemistry, were authorized by the original Board of Trustees and from this modest beginning The Ohio State University hasdeveloped. Professor Sidney A. Norton was selected to initiate and to guide the new department. A graduate of Union College, Professor Norton had received thorough training in the classics as well as in the basic sciences. His wide interests are shown by the fact that in his younger days he was the author of successful
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texts in English grammar, geology, physics, and chemistry. The last subject, however, became his special interest, and wishing to extend his studies in this field he spent some time in Germany, during which he studied chemistry at the Universities of Bonn, Leipzig, and Heidelberg. Upon his return he was elected professor of chemistry in the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati and retained this position until chosen professor of chemistry in the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The newly organized college was housed in a single building and the Department of Chemistry was assigned an unpretentious set of rooms on the third floor of this building. The courses offeredby Professor Norton, as published in the catalog of 1873-74, were as follows: 1. A General Course extending through one year consisting of an elementary study of inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and the application of chemistry to the arts. 2. A Sfiecial Course extending over three years composed mainly of qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis. The college had a very modest beginning. About twenty-five students registered during the first year and of this number, five took the first-year course in General Chemistry. In the second year the attendance increased to fifty-nine. The Department of Chemistry shared in this increase, fourteen students being enrolled in one or the other of the different courses. In his report to the Board of Trustees, submitted in November, 1874, Professor Norton writes as follows: I believe that the majority of these are faithful students and hope that they will make good progress. I regret to add that the class is hampered by a few students who are not well prepared for the work. It is probable that some, if not all, of these illdisciplined pupils will fail to pass their first examinations. We have two students in analytical chemistry, one of whom is ready to hegin his course in quantitative analysis.
While the number of students was small they evidently took their work seriously, for in his report for 1875, Professor Norton writes: The students in analytical chemistry rather surpassed my expectations, doing more work than I had anticipated, and deserve praise for their accuracy and thoroughlleS4.
He adds: "We need a small library for daily reference" and asks for $77 with which to purchase Watt's "Dictionary of Chemistty." This request was granted and due acknowledgment was made in his later report. At present the chemical library of the University consists of a Watt's Dictionary-a valuable book but not fully supplying our needs. . . We have begun to take a chemical journal.
The number of students gradually increased. In 1876 thirty-one students were enrolled in the department, in 1877, sixty-one, and in 1878,
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THEFIRSTCHEMICAL LABORATORY Built in 1882; destroyed by fire, 1889
sixty-four, twenty-four of whom were taking laboratory work. fessor Norton writes in his annual report for 1870:
Pro-
Very many' of the class in General Chemistry acquitted themsrlvcs with high credit, and the entire class is deserving praise for diligence and universal good behavior. The work done by the qualitative students is also commended, but I am not iully satisfied with the work accomplished by most of the quantitative students.
With an increasing number of students came the need of more commodious quarters and the General Assembly of 1881-82 appropriated $20,000 for the erection of a suitable laboratory. The structure was ready for occupancy in September, 1882. I t consisted of a two-story building, the upper floor of which was assigned to general and applied chemistry and the lower to Mining and Metallurgy, together with the Department of Agricultural Chemistry which was yet t o be established. Professor Norton in describing the new laboratory states that it is modeled after the great laboratory at Leipzig. Because of new demands, the college began to assume more of the spirit of a university, and in 1878, after a lengthy discussion as to the real functions of the institution, the name Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College was changed to The Ohio State University. A number of departments, some of them allied to the Department of Chemistry, were added. Included in this latter list were the following: the Department of Mining and Metallurgy, established in 1879 with Nathaniel W. Lord in charge; the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, established in 1884 with Henry Adam Weber as chairman; and the Department of Pharmacy authorized in 1885 with George B. Kauffman in charge.
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THESICCOND CIIEMICAL LABORATORY Erected in 1899; destroyed by fire, 1904.
Unfortunately, the sum appropriated for the erection of the laboratory was not sufficientto make the building fireproof, and on the morning of February 12, 1889, the entire laboratory was destroyed by fire. The General Assembly then in session promptly appropriated $40,000 for a new building. Temporary quarters for the Department of Chemistry were provided in University Hall and the new building, pushed to completion, was occupied in September, 1890. The methods of teaching used by Professor Norton followed closely those used in Germany. The first-year course consisted of lectures on inorganic chemistry and these were followed during the last third of the year by lectures on organic chemistry. The second year was devoted to qualitative analysis and the third to quantitative analysis. A student of Bunsen, Professor Norton laid great stress on "reactions in the dry way"; also on the "use of the blow-pipe in determinative mineralogy." Many of his older students will recall the course in qualitative analysis which ran as follows: First term: Reactions in the dry way and determination of 25 unknowns Second term: Reactions in the wet way. Third term: Same continued; 75 unknowns.
Upon the completion of the laboratory, new courses were offered in stoichiometry, toxicology, and proximate organic analysis, the three constituting an additional year's course. During the first few years Professor Norton had no help, except from certain of his students who counted it a great privilege, without any compensation whatever, to assist him, especially in the preparation of his
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experiments. In 1879, however, Mr. David O'Brine, then a student in the department, was employed as student assistant. Following Mr. @Brine's resignation in 1887, Mr. Frederick Keffer, a member of the class of '82, was elected to take his place. Upon his resignation in 1892, Mr. William McPherson, a member of the class of '87, was chosen to fill the vacant position. Professor Norton, trained in the methods of the German universities, believed that the first-year course in chemistry should consist of lectures and examinations, unaccompanied by laboratory practice. Other members of the instructional st& of the university, interested in the development of the method of teaching chemistry, insisted that laboratory work was just as essential a part of the course in general chemistry as it was of the course in qualitative analysis. The feeling became so intense that Professor Weber finally withdrew all first-year students in agriculture from the Department of Chemistry and provided for them a separate course in the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, in which laboratory work was made an essential part. This action was followed by the withdrawal from the Department of General Chemistry of all the freshman engineering students and their assignment to the newly created course in the Department of Agricultural Chemistry. This step led Professor Norton, against his better judgment, to the introduction of a limited amount of laboratory work in the first-year course. In 1894, Professor Norton, on account of his advancing age, was made lecturer in general chemistry and Mr. McPherson was placed in charge of the department, with the title of associate professor. Steps were taken immediately to make laboratory work an essential part of the first-year course. As a result, the freshmen in agricultural chemistry and in engineering were transferred back to the Department of General Chemistry. The introduction of laboratory work as an essential part of the course, together with the augmented number of students, necessitated additions to the instructional staff. Accordingly, in 1894, the Board of Trustees appropriated the sum of $600 for two new members to be known as "fellows and laboratory assistants." Mr. William L. Evans, the present chairman of the departmeut, and Mr. Raymond M. Hughes, the present president of Iowa State College, were elected to these positions and assumed charge of the laboratory work in connection with the first-year course. The rapidly increasing numbers soon made further assistance necessary so that in 1896 Mr. Charles W. Foulk, a member of the class of 1894, and, at the time, private assistant to Professor Nathaniel W. Lord, was elected assistant, and to him was assigned the work in analytical chemistry. One year later Mr. McPherson was promoted to a full professorship in charge of the department. These changes made it possible to offer new courses in inorganic preparations, electrolytic analysis, and in
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THE'THIRD CHEMICALLABORATORY Erected in 1906: vacated by the department of chemistry in 1926 and converted into a Hall of Languages.
sanitary and applied chemistry. There was also adopted a four-year curriculum leading to the degree of hachelor of science in chemistry. In June, 1899, Mr. Foulk was granted a leave of absence and spent two years as a student of Ostwald at the University of Leipzig. Mr. William E. Henderson, a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, and then professor of chemistry at Ohio University at Athens, was elected to carry on the work during Mr. Foulk's absence. During this period a new course was added in historical chemistry and the work in physical chemistry was extended. The department grew in numbers so rapidly that on Mr. Foulk's return in 1901 to resume his duties, Mr. Henderson was retained as a permanent member of the staff, both Mr. Foulk and Mr. Henderson having the title "assistant professor of chemistry." This addition to the staff made possible new courses in organic chemistry, rare elements, and the teaching of chemistry, as well as a four-year curriculum leading to the degree of BSc. in chemical engineering. The Ceneral Assembly in 1902 appropriated $20,000 for an addition to the laboratory. This had been occupied only a few months when, on the evening of February 19, 1904, the entire laboratory burned to the ground. The General Assembly then in session promptly voted an appropriation of $15,000 for temporary equipment, as well as an appropriation of $100,000 for a new laboratory. Plans were rapidly formulated and the new laboratory was occupied at the opening of the academic year 1906-07.
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The first-year class in general chemistry continued to grow in numbers to such an extent that it was found necessary to employ additional assistants. Consequently in 1905, Mr. William L. Evans, a former assistant in the department and later a graduate of The University of Chicago, was elected assistant professor of chemistry and given charge of the first-year work. One year later, Mr. James R. Withrow, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, was elected a member of the staff and placed in charge of the industrial chemistry. Under his guidance the number of students interested in industrial chemistry grew to such an extent that in 1924 a separate Department of Chemical Engineering was established with Mr. Withrow as chairman. In 1907 Mr. Cecil E. Boord, a graduate of Wabash College, was elected fellow in the department. Subsequently upon receiving his doctor's degree, he was promoted through the various ranks until in 1924 he was made professor in the division of organic chemistry. I t was inevitable that the work of the department should have been hampered somewhat during the great war. Mr. McPherson and Mr. Evans were absent on war duties during the entire period. The other members of the instructional staff of the department, and especially Mr. Henderson, Mr. Boord, and Mr. Withrow, not only assumed the extra burdens of teaching but also spent much of their time on war duties. Mr. Marion Hollingsworth (Ph.D., The Ohio State University) and Mr. Jesse Erwin
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building was $1,062,632. It consists of two main parts, namely: (1) a four-story front 308' X SO', and (2) attached to the rear of this, a onestory building of shop construction, 300' X 206'. The' laboratory provides ample accommodations for about 3000 students and is adequately equipped with all the apparatus required both for instruction and for research in the field of chemistry. A professional glass-blower and also an expert machinist constitute a part of the staff. The library has
LEcruns Room
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THE
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KBSEARCHLABORATORIES
been generously endowed by Mr. Charles Cutler Sharp, a graduate of the university of the class of '88.* From the standpoint of teaching, one of the most difficult problems with which the department has had to deal, has been that of finding satisfactory methods for the instruction of the large class in elementary chemistry numbering, during the present year, more than 1500 students. In the earlier years of the department when the class was comparatively small, and the teaching of chemistry in our high schools was distinctly inferior in quality, all first-year students were combined in a single class, thus completely ignoring any previous training that the student might have had in the suhject. Later, with increasing numbers, and with a very marked improvement in the quality of high-school chemistry, the class has been divided into two main sections; those who have had a year's course in highschool chemistry being placed in one section, and those who have had no previous training in the suhject, in the other section. The former section is given a decidedly more advanced course and is differentiated in other ways from the latter (2). For the first time, during the present year, a third section was formed. At the beginning of the year, during "Freshman
* A detailed description of the building may
be found by consulting reference ( I ) .
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THECHIEF MEMBERS OF THE PRESENT ~NSTRUCIIONALSTAFFO F TIIF. DEPARTMENT on CHEMISTRY
Week," a preliminary test was given to all students who had had a preliminary course in chemistry and who expected to continue the study. Those who made a high grade in this test were placed in this new section with the expectation that they would complete the course in two quarters, thus saving one quarter to he devoted either to a more advanced course in
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chemistry or to some other subject. This experiment promises to be a success. The Graduate School of the University was organized in 1011, and Mr. McPherson was elected to the deanship. The department immediately began to place additional stress upon graduate work. Scholarships, fellowships, and part-time assistantships were created and the number of graduate students gradually increased. Approximately 100 graduate students are now enrolled in the department, and up to the present time, the university has conferred the degree of doctor of philosophy upon 148 students majoring in some field of chemistry. At present the research activities of the department are concentrated on the following studies: (1) carbohydrates, their synthesis and reactions: (2) the mechanism of the Grignard reaction; (3) the synthesis and structure of the organo-titanium compounds; (4) the relation between optical rotation, absorption spectra, and chemical constitution; (5) the chemistry of synthetic medicinals and the higher acetylenes; (6) the priming and foaming of boiler feed water; (7) decomposition of gaseous metallic alkyls; (8) determination of the sizes and shapes of molecules; (9) application of thermodynamics and quantum theory to chemistry; (10) the chemistry of bacteria; (11) the catalytic combustion of carbon; (12) reactions in liquid ammonia; (13) polythionic acids and their salts; (14) stability of suspensoid sols. Mr. McPherson continued to act both as chairman of the Department of Chemistry and dean of the Graduate School until 1928, when the growth of these two activities made it no longer possible for one person to fill both positions; accordingly, he resigned the chairmanship of the department and Mr. Evans, whose researches in the field of carbohydrates brought to him, in 1929, the award of the Nichols Medal, was elected to the position thus made vacant. The present organization of the department is as follows: WILLIAM L. EVANS,chairman Division of General Chemistry Division of Analytical Chemistry Division of Inorganic Chemistry Division of Organic Chemistry Division of Physical Chemistry Division of Colloid and Electrochemistry
W ~ L I ALM EVANS,head Jesse E. DAY,a c t k g herxi CHARLES W. FOWLK, head Wnunmn E. HENDERSON, head C ~ c E. n Boom, head EDWARD MACK,JR.,head WESLEY G . FRANCE, head
Literature Cited ( I ) DAYand BURD,The Hexagon of Alpha Chi Sigma, 21, 199-201 (Jan., 1931). (2) EVANS and DAY, "An Experiment in CoBperative Teaching," J. CHEM.EDUC
5, 1133-5 (Sept., 1928).
.
