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T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
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OBITUARIES SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY
I n considering the life of a man, we are apt, I think, t o lay stress on what he has accomplished concretely, rather than on what he was abstractly. With the man o l affairs it interests people in general t o know what he has. rather thnn what he is, although we know that character is greater thnn accomplishment. With the scientists we reason the same. and look in the publications for a record of the man. Great as Sir William Ramsay was as B scientist, if we confine ourselves t o that side of him we miss. I think, a great lesson of his life. He was not a one-sided man, hut rather. a four-square. complete man. which is very different. It is not my purpose in this brief article t o review his work. That has been done, and will he done. by far abler pens.
L a W Y I L LR ~A Y ~ SAY
It was my good fortune to know him intimately, and it is to some of his less known qualities that I would draw attention, as his real greatness cannot he appreciated if t h a t p i n t of view be neglected. Everybody knows he loved the truth. No man can he a great investigator otherwise. While his investigations carried him f a r afield, he differentiated strongly between hopes and facts. although well-grounded hopes were not easily set aside.
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He realized, as few men I have met have realized. t h a t chemistry is in its infancy. and it would be a long time before it would even.reach the age of manhood. Hence anything, not ridiculous on its face, was worth thought, and probably deep thought. Apropos of something raid, I asked him once if he really believed in transmutation. His answer. “Why not?’ was characteristic. It implied the possibility, while not assenting t o the proposition. Dr. John W.Draper, my old preceptor, had progressed that far. without a tithe of the reasons of the modern chrmist. Of course he did not teach it. One of Ramsay’s most charming qualities was his simplicity. He was full of fun and jollity. Years ago, he was at my St. Lawrence home when there was a house-party of girls. and he was the life of the party: full of pranks and schemes t o amuse. You would lose sight of him a moment, and, behold. he would he quietly sketching the sunset. or some other feature of that beautiful region which filled his simple soul with delight. He was never idle. He was always doing something, generally with the idea of giving others pleasure. Those girls, I am sure. will remember him, not as a great man who overawed them, hut rather as a jolly companion. He was loyal t o his friends. No one could he more so. He would go t o any amount of trouble t o do them a good turn. He was a royal guest, which is a great and rare virtue. He was a charming host, which is more common. His mind was clean and pure, and jealousy and unworthy thoughts could find no lodgment there. There was not a mean streak in him anywhere, that 1 could ever discover. He had a great appreciation of humor. I sometimes think no man can be truly great who has not. He could even understand our American jokes. m,hich is not always true of his countrymen. H e was interested in everything that was going on about him. and could converse delightfully with anyone. no matter how humble might be his walk in life. All the fine qualities which went t o make up the man came t o clearest view when he was stricken with a disease which leaves so little room for hope. and which requires such great patience. Suffering could not dim his courage, or deter him from the endeavor t o make his last experience of value t o others. T o quote from Lady Ramsay’s last letter t o me: “The courage is not new; but the patience is almost heart-breaking.” Writing in bed his last letter t o me, he described the various experiments which he was trying on himself-not with any hope of the saving of his life. but with the yearning t o arrive a t some new knowledge which would help others, il taken in time. Such, in brief, was the man. Endowed with a splendid constitution, and a wonderful mind, his whole life was spent in endeavoring t o do all he could for the benefit of his fellows and the science which he loved so well. T o those who knew him intimately. his memory will.always he cherished; not so much for what he did, hut hecause of what he was. WM. H. NICHOLS
PERSONAL NOTES Dr. Charles H. Herty, professor of chemistry and dean of the School of Applied Science, University of North Carolina; Dr. W. R. Whitney, director of the research laboratory of the General Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y . ; Dr. Leo H. Baekeland, of Yonkers, N. Y.; and Mr. Warren K. Lewis, of Newton, Mass., have been appointed by the American Chemical Society t o =&perate with the Committee of the National Academy of Sciences on the nitrate supply for the U.S. Government.
Vol. 8, No. 9
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The Brown Instrument Company, Philadelphia, announce that they will occupy Section No. 306 in the Second National Exposition of Chemical Industries, and will exhibit a complete line of indicating and recording pyrometers, and also their new recording thermometers. They will be represented by Mr. John P. Goheen, sales manager, Mr. William Printz, assistant sales manager. and Mr. J. D. A n d r e w New York representative.
