Ferenc Szabadvary Technical University Budapest, Hungary
Reflections on the Present and Future of the History of Science
I n every country, the effective practice and teaching of chemistry witlrout a knowledge of its history is bccoming more and more difficult, and I nccordingly expect a great development in the history of science in the near fnture. Concern with the future is r:~pidly becoming :L science (futurology) under our vcry cycs. I n an ern of :~ccelerateddevelopment in all fields, especially technology, the solution of concomitant pmblem.~,e.g., the popuhtion explosion, environmental pollution, and world peace, has likewise become more urgent. T l ~ u s:L planning and prepnrat,ion for an influence upon the future has become a sine qua non everywhere. No one rho IIRS witnessed the breath-taking scientific :md teehnologic:~ldevelopments of thc past quarter century would chdlenge the fact that science and teclinology are t,he determinant fact,ors influencing our fut,ure. T h y ttlierefore constitute the very heart of futurology. However, it is becoming increasingly clenr that the futnre development of sciencc and teclinology cannot be judged or prcdieted witlwut a profound knowledge of their past dcvclopment, and there is no starting point for s ~ i c bextmpol:lt,ion other than tlic path that they havc followcd to the present dnt,c. We must examine how import,i~ntdiscoveries w r e made nnd whether they were eomplctely :~ccideut;~1 or the inevitable result of previous lino\r.lcdge. Did the discovery result from fundamental, "pure" research or from goal-oriented,
282
/
Journal of Chemical Education
"applied" research? Was the research conducted in an academic or industrial laboratory? How did the idea leading to the discovery occur? Did it emerge from the same branch of science or from another related or entirely separate area? How long a period elapsed between the initial discovery and the recognition of its significaucc or its practical application? What was the ratio of researchers to the number of discoveries or inventions? Has this ratio, i.e., the effectiveness of research, changed in the course of time, and if so, in which direction? How have the various branches of scientific specialization developed, and what are the relationships existing a t the interfaces betwvecn tbese branches and related disciplines? Which has proved more advantageous, the fragmentation of disciplines into specialties or the integration of specialties into new interdisciplinary fields? (1). The answers t o these and similar questions required by planners of the future can be provided only by historians of science. I n order t o obtain answers t o the above questions, profound, detailed analysis and comprehensive investigation are required. "Pure" historians of science may question whether such tasks are not too pragmatic t o be included in their domain, but the history of science itself has shown that those branches of science which have developed well theoretically have a l m y s had a practical side as well. Systemat,ie answers t o the above questions will re-
quire many investigations in the history of science, in greater detail than has hitherto been customary. Files of industrial organizations and Patent Offices will require careful historical and scientific scrutiny. Proper evaluation of the data obtained will necessarily involve close collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines, a situat,ion which experience has shown t o be very productive. I n my opinion, too, the most interesting discoveries are always made a t the borders of adjoining territories of science (1). For example, when compiling a history of analytical chemistry (B), I noticed that the essentially new methods of analytical chemistry or a t least the ideas on which they were based evolved in most instances not from the analytical laboratory but from elsewhere. I n concluding this section of my address, I merely wish to add that the history of science can obviously contribute numerous useful ideas not only to other disciplines but t o our society as well. I may well be too optimistic, but I nevertheless persist in my conviction that up-to-date research on the past of science mill appear as an important component of the science of the future. History of Hungarian Chemistry
With the foregoing thoughts in mind, I have spent considerable t.ime compiling a history of chemistry in Hungary, and I should like to devote my remaining time to a brief chronological survey of this topic. M y task was not an easy one, for virtually nothing had been done in this field before, and I had to resort exclusively to archives, especially when dealing with the distant past. The results of my research with a colleague will be published as a book in the near future (8). The history of the Hungarian chemical industry is now on display in the Hungarian Chemical iVIuseum, which, after many years of preparation, has opened this summer in a restored medieval castle. T o the best of my knowledge, this is the first such museum in the world. Hungary is a small country, with a population numbering hardly more than ten million living in an area about the size of the state of Maine. It has had a long and eventful history. More than a thousand years ago, in the year A.D. 896, our ancestors, coming from Asia as the last wave of the Great Illigrat,ions, settled in what today is Hungary. This very year we celebrate the thousandth anniversary of t,he birth of St. Stephen (IstvBn), our first king, who adopted Christianity and organized a state out of what vere then wandering tribes. At various times during the Middle Ages, Hungary assumed the role of a great power, while the most characteristic feature of her modern history has been the struggle to preserve her national entity with its concomitant wars for liberty and independence. Since 1949 Hungary bas been n socialist state. Early Metallurgical Advances
During the Middle Ages Hungary was the first European producer and purveyor of precious metals. Along with advanced metallurgy, chemical analysis came into existence a t this time, I n 1342 royal edicts regulating gold and silver assaying mere passed. IYom charters dated 1407 it appears that nitric acid was
regularly employed in the analytical and industrial separation of gold and silver. Hungary's preeminence in metallurgy contributed to t,he development of chen~ical education. Regular? organized, chemical laborat,ory instruction was given for the first time anywhere a t the Selmecbinya Rlining Academy, one of Europe's first technical universities, wl~icliwas founded in 1732 (4, 5). The method was subsequently adopted by the Parisian Ecolc l'olytechnique, founded in 1795, and soon spread throughout the world. The only element so far discovered in Hungary, viz., tellurium, was discovered in 1784 by Iperenc hfiillcr (1740-1525), Director of tlie Transylvanian mines ( G ) , and independently in 1789 by anot,lier Hungarian chemist, I'aul Kitaibel (1757-1817) (7). Beginnings of Modern Chemistry
The further development of chemistry in Hungary can best he surveyed by considering the contribut~ionsof individual scient,ists. I g n b nlartinovics (1755-95), a professor of physics and chemistry, was one of the pioneers in t,he fractiorlal distill:~tion of crude oil. Convicted of organizing a Jacobin plot, he was beheaded a t Uuda in 1795, one year after 1,avoisier's similar execution. T o the best of my knowledge of the history of chemistry, 1.avoisier and Rlartinovics are the only chemists to have been executed. The silently igniting matcli, tlic precursor of our modern safety match, was invented by J h o s Irinyi (1819-95). During an analysis of cocoa fat, Arthur Gorgey (1818-191G), who achieved distinction in the field of grease chemistry, discovered lanric acid (CI2H2,O2)in 1848. Gorgey also figured prominently in Hungary's political history. I n 1849, during Hungary's War of Independence, \vhicli x i s snppressed by tlie Habsburgs arid the Russians after two years of fighting. lie \\-as Commander-in-Chief of t,lie Hungarian Army. The greatest personality of modern Hungarian chemistry was IXroly Th:ui (IS&-19OS), professor of cllemistry a t Budapest University from lSGO to 1908 and t,eaclier of several generations of chemists (8). I n 1864 he introduced the use of pot:tssium hydrogencarbonate as a primary standard for :icid-basc titrations, a use that has continued t,o t h r present d : ~ y(9). He also suggested a definition for the molar volume of g:ms as the volume of stand:lrd s h t e g:rs of hydrochloric acid containing exactly 1 g of 11ydn)gcn. He determined this volume cxperiment:dly, \vit,l~otily :L slight error, :IS 22.331 (10). I n 1878 I.orBnd Eotvos (184s-1919) proposed his lam of molecular surface tension, found in even tlie most elementary textbook of p1iysic:il cllemistry (11). On the other hand, l'&l Szily (187&1945), 1vho cnrried out the epoch-making work on the delinition of hydrogen ion concentration and its colorimetric determin:~tion which resulted in the p H concept, has been forgotten and generally unackno~vledged (IB). Szily also invented artificial buffer s01utions; in 1904 he discovered t,hat it was possible t o prepare solutions of dmost constant l~ydrogcnion concentration by mixing various proportions of primary and secondnry phosplintes (13). I n 1913 Gyorgy Hevcsi (1SS.r-) developed t,he extremely important radiouctive tr:lcer method (141, xvhich \vas subsequently employed by him and others in Volume 48, Number 5, May 1971
/ 283
diverse fields of chemistry, metallography, physiology, etc. For this work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1943 (15). His later discoveries such as isotope dilution analysis, neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence analysis, and hafnium Irere made after he had left Hungary, which prompts me to consider here the contemporary problem of vhat has been called the "brain drain." Migration of Scientists
The migration of scientists and intellectuals from less prosperous research environments to more favorable ones, i.e., from poor countries to richer ones, has been blamed by the European press primarily upon the United States. Yet the phenomenon is natural and inevitable. Research is becoming increasingly expensive and can be supported adequately in only the more prosperous countries. A researcher cannot be justifiably rebuked if he seeks a place where he can carry out his life's work most effectively. Even if this migrationis regretable from the narrow viewpoint of the economic and technological development of a given nation, it is beneficial in the long run for all mankind. It should be obvious that even the most promising talent will he lost if gifted scholars find themselves in localities where they have no opportunities to exercise their potential skills. Although migration of scientists can be prevented by bureaucratic means, the problem can only he solved conclusively by economic integration among the various states and the consequent disappearance of national frontiers. Hungary has suffered particularly severely from the "brain drain." After World War I, it became a very poor country, and possibilities for support of scientific research declined markedly. Therefore, the emigration of scientists from Hungary began comparatively early. In addition to economic reasons, political circumstances as well have contributed to this emigration during the last fifty years. Since World War I our country's government has successively gone from kingdom through proletarian dictatorship, counterrevolution, semifascism, fascism, and bourgeois democracy to people's democracy. Each of these governmental changes provoked a wave of emigration. As a result, a large number of Hungarian-born scientists have played
284
/
lournol o f Chemical Education
prominent roles throughout the Western World in the creation of atomic and thermonuclear bombs and in nuclear research programs. Recent Advances
As to our achievements hetu-een the two World Wars, I should like to mention the names of GQza Zemplh (1883-1956) (sugar chemistry), IJBsz16 Zechmeister (b. 1895, living in the U.S.A.) (carotinoid chemistry), and IJ&sd6 Cholniky (1899-1957) (column chromatography). Other Hungarian luminaries include Albert Szent-GyGrgyi (b. 1893, living in the U.S.A., Nobel Prize in medicine, 1937) who produced vitamin C, Lisz16 SzehelMdy (190144), who discovered coulometric analysis, and AladiLr Buzigh (1895-1962), many of whose contributions to colloid science bear his name. During the last twenty years, scientific research has flourished in Hungary. Some remarkable inventions and important data have resulted from this growth. Science has been generously supported by the state. New universities have been constructed, and wellequipped institutes for fundamental research have been founded. The future of science in our country appears to be most promising. In conclusion, I would like you to know how happy I am to receive the Dexter Award. I wish to thank you for the great honor that you have bestowed upon me and for your kind indulgence in listening to me. Literature Cited (1) Ixoe, A. J.. J. C m x .Eooc., 46,193 (1969). (2) Sz*e*ovin~, F.. "History of Analyticsl Chemistry" (Transloto?: G r u ~ *sv~m*), Pergamon Press. New York,1960. (3) S E A B A D Y ~ R Y . F.. AND ~ Z ~ Z E I A L V IN I ( I Y . 2.. "A KAmis tdrthete MagyarorszBgon" (History oi Chemistry io Hungary). Ak&demiai Kiad6. Budapest. 1971. (4) Sup.*~an,W. A,. Anna18 of Soi.. 19, 224 (1954). (1 121 n 46. , . , Reference ...~.~.~~.. ~ -,,-.-.. (6) M i r ~ c ~ F., n . Physikolische Avbsifen dm sinhdchtigsn F ~ e u n d ein Wien, 1 (I). 57.63 (1783); 1 (2). 49 (1784); 1. (3). 34 (1875). (7) w ~ ~ aM. a ,E.. "Diaoovery of the Elements" (7th ed. rev. by H. M. LEICEBTER.) DO. 295-304. Chemioal Education Publiahinz Co.. (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15)
Refersnoe (2). pp. 252-4. T~AN K., , Molh. u. natursiaacn. Bprichls aus Unoom. 6. 127 (1887-88). THAN, K., Molh. u. naturtuissen. Be7ichle ous Ungorn, 6 , 161 (1887-88). Eswvbs, L.. Ann. Phua.. 27,448 (1886). Reference (2). DP. 262.363. 3 7 6 7 . Fnreomm~r,.A,, 2. Elscliochem.. 10. 113 (1904). H e v ~ s uG , . , A N D PANETH, F., 2. onow Chem., 82,323 (1913). F~nnmn,E., "Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry: 1901-1961" (rev. ed.). Abelard-Schuman, Nerv York. 1963, pp. 176-180.
