JOSEPH REDTENBACHER MORITZ KOHN (Translated by Ralph E. Oesper, University of Cincinnati)
ONTEE sqnare before the. Votitlkirche, not far from the University, stands a simple, one-story red brick structure whose fapade is embellished with,the names of some of the most famous chemists of the world. It is the old chemical building of the University of Vienna. The erection of this laboratory, in which chemistry found its first worthy home in the Austrian capital, was due primarily to the ceaseless efforts of Joseph Redtenhacher.
. Th. Old Chemical Institute
s The construction was begun in, 1869, but unfortunately death overtook him in 1870 before the building was put into use. Redtenbacher ,was not only the founder of this Chaisches Institut but also the first professor of Vienna who could teach c h h i s t r y as an actual science accordmg to the most modern views. In addition he war; a pioneering investigator. During the 1870 general mwting of the German Chemical Society its president, A. W. Hofmann, stated that a fitting obituary of an eminent colleague had not yet been composed for the Berirhte, and he hoped that an account, even though belated, mould be given of the life and acoomplishments of Joseph Redtenbacher. The request was repeated by Hofmann in 1875; he felt that it mas still not too late to pay this deserved tribute. He appealed particularly t o Redtenbacher's friends, but there was no response. Thus, the present biographical sketch, written 76 years after his death, is the first t o appear in a chemical periodical. Joseph Redtenbacher was born in 1810 a t Kirchdorf in Upper Austria. As a boy he exhibited a great interest in natural science, especially botany. He decided t o study medicine, not because he intended t o practice this profession, hut only because the curriculum 'con-
tained the auxiliary sciences which were his main interest. After obtaining his medical degree in 1834, he was appointed assistant to Jaquin. The latter taught both chemistry and botany-an illuminating sidelight on the state of chemical instruction of that period. Fortunately Redtenbacher was transferred from his original favorite, botany; to an assistantship in chemistry. Shortly thereafter he received a second stroke of fortune that further determined his scientific development-namely, a government grant to use for sdditional training. Since there was no place in Austria where an up-to-date chemical course was oflered, Redtenbacher went t o Germany. At first he worked in Berlin with Heinrich Rose, the well-known authority in analytical chemistry. Then Redtenbacher enrolled a t Giessen in the famous laboratory developed by Liehig. The fascinating force of Liebig's personality, teaching ability, and research method made a tremendous impression on the young Austrian. Their joint papers (IS, $4) brought Redtenbacher's name into prominence among chemists, and in 1840 the Austrian Emperor, Ferdinand, appointed him to the professorship in the University of Prague. He was active there until 1848 when the disturbances accompanying the Revolution caused him t o seek refuge in his naiive village. He did not return t o P r a b e because he was called to Vienna in 1849. This was the scene of his activities for 21 years, i. e., until his untimely death in 1870. In 1847, when the Vienna Academy of Sciences was founded to be the preeminent scientific organization o!:the Empire, the 30 most distinguished scholars of Austria were named t o membership. The list included two chemists, Redtenbacher and Schroetter. At Liehig's suggestion a number of the young men working in the Giessen Laboratory carried OW (1840) a study of fatty acids and their distillation products. Stearic acid (11) was assigned to Redtenbacher. This same year he reported that sebacic acid CloHlaOais formed by the distillation of oleic acid or of fat,s containing oleic acid (1$): He later continued this investigation of the effect of heat on fats and in 1843 reported from Prague the results of his study of acrolein. This is doubtless his most important paper. I t had been known for a long time that overheated fats produce a substance that has an extremely penetrating odor. Although it hadnot been isolated in pure form, Berzelius suggested that it be called acrolein. Redtenbacher proved that this substance was not a decomposition product of fatty acids, but of fats, and that its real source is the glycerol of the fats. Therefore. his paper was entitled "The decornpositon products of glyceryl-
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oxide by dry distillation" (15). He recommended a method of preparation that is still in use-namely, heating glycerol with potassium bisulfate or phosphorus pentoxide. He succeeded in overcoming the considerable experimental difficulties encountered in this preparation and described,this substance as a colorless liquid boiling a t 52". The empirical formula C a 4 0 was confirmed by determination of the vapor density. He likewise observed its ability to condense and polymerize. I n addition to the intolerable odor and the ready volatility, the preparation was quite difficult because of the ease with which acrolein is altered on contact with the air. He found that it takes up an atom of atmospheric oxygen to produce the compound CaH402, which he named acrylic acid. This is the first member of the series of unsaturated acids with the general formula C.Hln-P02. An acid, CsHlsOz,was isolated in 1846 by Redtenhacher and Pless from the volatile oil of Pelargaium roseum. Redtenbacher a t this time made (22) the interesting discovery that this same newly discovered pelargonic acid is formed when oleic acid is oxidized by nitric acid. This fact is now used as a potent argument for the present structural formula of oleic acid, since the latter (I) on oxidation is decomposed into pelargonic (11) and azelaic (Ill) acids.
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CH8(CH2),CH= C H ( C H W 0 O H (I) 0 CH,(CH2)rCOOH(11) COO'H(CHJr
In 1846 he studied St. John's bread and obtained an acid which he recognized as butyric acid (21). This identification was perfectly correct in the light of what was known at the time, and it was not,until 1864 that Erlenmever. -~" , and somewhat later Markownikow., mepared isobutyric acid. I n 1872, at Erlenmeyer's suggest,ion, Griinzweig made a study which showed that the acid obtained from the St. John's bread is isobutyric acid. Tiedemann, the physiologist, in conjunction with the chemist Gmelin, isolated taurine from :all in 1824. In 1838 Demarcay reported that taurine has the composition of acid ammonium oxalate, a finding that was confirmed by Pelouze and Dumas that same year. In 1846 .Redtenbacher made the startling discovery that taurine contained sulfur (19); he found its empirical formula to be CgH703NS. Redtenbacher prepared another compound, sulfite-aldehyde ammonia CzH,0NHI.S02 (B),but found i t to be quite different from taurine, its isomer. The latter, which is aminoethane sulfonic acid, mas synthesized by Kolbe in 1862. Unfortunately the stream of Redtenbacher's scientific contributions dried up after he moved to Vienna. This was regrettablenot only for himself and for the University a t which he taught, but most of all for the science he represented. Many fruitful discoveries could have come from the skilled hands of this reliable observer. However. these events can be lo~icallvexplained' In vienna'he found a gigantir task which would have totally consumed the &
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time and energy of even the most gifted and assiduous man. He was a member of the philosophical faculty; he was responsible for the entire instruction of the medical and pharmaceutical students; he was entrusted by the medical faculty to work out the official certificates for which he was the final authority; he mas charged with the re-examination of 48 Viennese apothecaries; furthermore, he was given the task of instructing the artillery officers in chemical technology and the chemistry of explosives. Even these rnultifarious and exhausting duties did not completely fill the measure. The burden of planning the new chemistry building was piled on his shoulders. He made trips into other countries to study the arrangement and equipment of the most modern laboratories. He worked out no less than 14 plans for the new structure. The bureaucratic difficulties and disputes which needlessly delayed the progress of the undertaking made his life miserable. And last but not least, his.laboratory was quartered in the entirely inadequate rooms of the Theresianum, a school that was built hy Maria Theresa for the traintng of the sons of the nobility. If Redtenbacher's scientific career is scrutinized, its variety becomes clearly evident. He was an excellent organic chemist, and in lme with his medical training he mas also a physiological chemist. He was an accurate analyst and published a whole series of studies of the composition of various minerals and mineral waters. Problems in inorganic and mineral chemistry, such as meteoric stones, received his careful attention. He had good judgment in regard to questions of applied chemistry and therefore was often consulted by various government officials. For example, he was chairman of -
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The Bust o f Redtenbacher Standing in the Lostvrs Room of th. Old chemical 1=titute
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
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the commission made up of scientists and representatives of the militarv boards who had to inform the Austrian government about the usability of gun cotton for military purposes. Redtenbacher's friends and admirers placed a white marble bust in the auditorium of the old chemistry building. His highly intellectual features were thus faithfully preserved for later generations. But, as has already been stated, none of his Austrian colleagues and friends felt impelled to compose an. obituary for the chemical world. The writer is strongly reminded of Roltsmann's words:' "We Austrians are a strange really great,me are people, if one of us does properly embarrassed, we do not trust ourselves .to make public recognition of the accomplishment." Be that as it may, the foregoing brief account is one to show that hdtenbacher was not of the pioneers of chemistry in Austria, but also an investigator who contributed .solid building stones that helped in the erecting of modern chemistry. He has shared, with many other scientists, the fate of being The Of his name brin@ looks. He has published the comparatively small number of 24 papers. Nevertheless, any textbook of chemistry, worthy of the title, will doubtless contain results contributed by Joseph Redtenbacher. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I obtained the picture of Joseph Redtenbacher through the courtesy of the ~ ~ t~ i i~in vienna ~b ~ by the efforts of Mrs. Mathilde Raschka who was kind enough to act as intermediary between the Libraw and myseif. I am also indebted-to Professor K. ~rz;bram a i d Professor v. Wessely, both of the University of Vienna, who took care of the other pictures. From a speech delivered on No"ember 5, 1895, a t the unveiling of the monument of Joseph Loschmidt a t the University
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PUBLICATIONS OI' JOSEPH REDTENBACHER (1) "Chemical Study of the Acidulous Spring a t Biliu in Bohemia," Prague, 1845. (2) "Analysis of the phonolith of Whisterschan," Poggendorf's Ann., 48 (1839). (3) "Amlysis of an dbitedike minerd," ibid., 52 (1841). (4) "Analysis of the ancient Slavic bronzes of Ginece," Abhandl. Koenigl. Boehm. Gesell., [5] (1847). (5) "Analysis of the iodine spring at Roy, Silesia," J. prakt. Chem., 107 (1869). (6) -~6k,,lj~ & metaeetonsyra,,9 8tockholm ~ k . , [I] (1844). (7) "Pichurin tdgsyra," ibid., avers. [51 (1848). (8) "Spectroscopic study of several mineral waters," Sikber. Akad. Wiss. Wia., 44 (1861). (9) "Separation of rubidium and cesium in the form of alums," ibid., 51 (1865). (10) "Andysis of barium methionate," Ann., 33, 356 (1840). (11) "Study of the composition and distillation products of stertrio acid,"ibid., 35,46 (1840). (12) fatty ibid, 35 3 (13) "The atomic d i g h t of carbon" (with J u s w s VON LIEBIG), ibid.,38,113 (1841). (14) "Analysis of meteoric stones from Ivan (Hungary)," ibid., 41,308 (1842). (15) "The decomposition products obtsininedby the dry distillation of glyoeryloxide," ibid., 47, 113 (1843). (16) "The presence of formic acid in decaying pine twigs and needles," ibid., 47,148 (1843). (17) "White and black s d t from the blast furnrtce in Mariadl in Styria," ibid., 47, 150 (1843). (18) "The action of nitric acid on cholaidonic acid' and cholesterol,"ibid., 57,148 (1846). (19) "The composition of tauriue," +%id.,57,170 (1846). (20) of metacetonic acid," ibid., 57, ~ l "New ~ method ~ of formation ~ 174 (1846). (21) m ~acid ~ in est. ~~h~~~bread bean)," ibid., $,, 177 11846). (22) "A genkrd mode of origin of the acids (CH).OI boiling below 30O0;'ibid., 59,41 (1846). (23) "The constitution of tsuriue and of a compound isomeric wiih it. "ih&4 6 K 27 i,A"-",. lUPI "...", """ *.,--, (24) "Carbothiddin" (with JUSTUSv o LIEBIG), ~ ibid., 65, 43 (1848).
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