August, 1927
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
stance, a product claim for a valuable new chemical compound had been granted and the patentee had given only one method of preparing the new compound, nobody would be interested in improving the methods as any novel process would not be workable without licenses from the original discoverer of the new compound. France has proved that such law is bad. If, for example, the product as prepared by the patentee’s process costs 85.00 per kilogram and another manufacturer is able to sell the same compound for $2.00 as a result of a very cheap and quite different process, it is better to hare
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an independent process patent for the second inventor, who materially increases the industrial possibilities. It is not possible here to go further into the pros and cons of Dutch patent law with respect to chemical inventions. The writer has given considerable attention to this subject in a book4 which was issued in 1924, and if this book has even a slight influence on the revision of Dutch patent law as far as chemical inventions are concerned he will be satisfied. “ D e begrippen werkwijze, stof en voortbrengsel in h e t Nederlandsche Octrooirecht.” ( T h e expressions “process,“ “compound,” and “product” in D u t c h p a t e n t law.)
Henry Paul Talbot
D
OCTOR Talbot died suddenly on June 18 during what During the World War Doctor Talbot did especially effective was thought t o be a satisfactory convalescence from a work as a member of the small advisory board of the United major operation. It may be truly said of him that he States Bureau of Mines and later of the War Department and was a martyr to his sense of duty. During many months of actively supervised much of the work on war gases. increasing ill health he continued t o serve as dean of students In 1921 he received from Dartmouth College the honorary of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, t o which office he was degree of D. Sc. appointed in 1921, and in the words of He was an interested and helpful memPresident Stratton, “he filled the difficult ber of many scientific bodies; an author of a widely used textbook on “Quantitaposition of mediator, counselor and friend tive Analysis,” and a joint author with to the undergraduate body in a manner t h a t commanded the admiration and won Prof. Arthur A. Blanchard of “The Electhe hearts of all students who came in trolytic Dissociation Theory.” contact with him.” No bald summary of e f f o r t a n d Doctor Talbot was born in Boston, achievement can, however, adequately N a y 15, 1864. He was graduated from e v a l u a t e the distinguished position of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Doctor Talbot in American chemistry, in 1885 with the degree of B.S., havor indicate the far-reaching effects of ing specialized in analytical chemistry. his influence in shaping the policies of He served the Institute for several years Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an instructor in t h a t subject before and molding the character of the thouleaving for Leipzig, where he received sands of students, who, looking to him a s his Ph.D. degree in 1890. While in guide and instructor, found also in him Germany he turned his attention more a sympathetic and understanding friend. specifically to organic chemistry, and his As a classmate of “Harry” Talbot, i t is viewpoint was further broadened to ina privilege t o testify t o his unswerving clude the concepts of the new physical loyalty to the Class of ’85 and to the chemistry, which was then coming into high sense of duty which conspicuously being. Returning to the Institute, he characterized all his relations. A notable was appointed assistant professor and provision of his will makes the school a t once introduced physical chemistry which he had served so long his residuary Henry Paul Talbot into its curriculum. This was one of the legatee and expresses the hope that the first physical chemistry courses estabfunds so derived may be used to enable lished in this country. junior members of its faculty to attend Thereafter, until his death Doctor Talbot served the Institute meetings of the societies of their professions. with fine devotion and t o such effect that his loss there is regarded Doctor Talbot is survived by his wife, who was Miss Frances as irreparable. He was appointed to a full professorship in E. Dukehart of Baltimore. There were no children. 1898, and for twenty years following 1901 he was head of the ARTHURD. LITTLE Department of Chemistry. H e was chairman of the faculty from 1919 t o 1921, and during the critical ad interim period following the death of President Maclaurin served as chairman Calendar of Meetings of the Administrative Committee of the Institute. Meeting, Detroit, Mich., Doctor Talbot’s interest in chemistry and his service to the American Chemical Society-74th September 5 t o 10, 1927. profession extended far beyond the school which absorbed his Division of Organic Chemistry-Second National Symposium major energies. From 1898 until his death he was a member on Organic Chemistry, Columbus, Ohio, December 29 t o of the Council of the AYERICANCHEMICAL SOCIETY,and also 31, 1927. served as one of its Directors. He was a member of many im- American Electrochemical Society-Fall Meeting in the form of a n excursion through the Northwest, September 4 t o 20, portant committees, had been a n associate editor of the Journal 1927. of the American Chemical Society, and chairman of the Division American Refractories Institute-Clifton Hotel, Niagara Falls, of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry. H e was elected president Canada, September 15, 1927. of the New England Chemistry Teachers’ Association and was Eleventh Annual Exposition of Chemical Industries-Grand for several years chief examiner in chemistry of the College Central Palace, New York, N. Y . , September 26 t o October Entrance Examination Board. 1, 1927.
