The CHANDLER INFLUENCE in
AMERICAN CHEMISTRY* R. D. BILLINGER Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
B
EFORE American chemistry had advanced to its present high standing in the world of science there was a period of slow development influenced by great college teachers. Two brothers-Charles Frederick Chandler and William Henry Chandlerwere strong contributors to this development. Charles, the elder, often referred to as the Dean of American Chemists, was well known as the beloved Professor of Chemistry a t Columbia University from 1864 to 1910. William, the younger, occupied a similar chair a t Lehigh University from 1871 to 1906, and attained eminence in a smaller sphere. The field of their activities, however, became international when we consider their work in the realms of scientific investigation, editing, and collecting. A survey of the chief works of these two brothers is the object of this paper. The Chandlers came from fine New England stock, (1) descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1637. Charles Frederick Chandler was born December 6, 1836 a t Lancaster, Massachusetts, and five years later William Henry was born a t New Bedford on December 13, 1841. The two brothers and a sister, Catherine, were the children of Charles Chandler (merchant) and Sarah Whitney of New Bedford. Their father, with a botanical bent, often took them for walks in the study of nature. This developed a spirit of collecting flowers, minerals, and so forth, which was to influence their later careers. Scientific lecturers, among whom was Louis Agassiz, who came to their home town, also influenced them. At the age of fourteen Charles knew that he would be a chemist, and he already had a small laboratory a t home. His example probably persuaded young William to follow the same career. C. F. Chandler's formal academic schooling began with study a t the Lawrence Scientific School, which he entered a t sixteen in 1853. While here he met a visiting lecturer, Dr. Charles A. Joy of Union College, who urged him to go abroad for advanced study, particularly to Germany for chemistry. To Gottingen he went to work in the private laboratory of the great Wnhler, then to Berlin where he learned analytical chemistry from Heinrich Rose and mineralogy from Gustav Rose. He met distinguished people a t the
house of the American minister (2) and visited von Humboldt a t Charlottenburg. He rexived his doctorate a t Gottingen in 1856. The title of his thesis
"Miscellaneous Chemical Researches" indicated that breadth of interest which was to mark his later activities. Home and in quest of a job he heard that his early advisor, Professor Joy a t Union College, Schenectady, needed an assistant. Applying, he learned that there *Presented before the Division of the History of Chemistry was a vacancy, but no salary for an instructor. To at the ninetv-sixth meetine of the A. C. S.. Milwaukee. Wisconremedy this he earned four hundred dollars as janitor,. sin. septem6er 5, 1938. 253
the tasks of which he dutifully fulfilled early each morning before teaching chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. The next year when Professor Joy went to Columbia, Chandler was named his successor and became a fullfledged professor a t twenty-one. During this period his brother, William, came to Union College to begin his studies. He eagerly absorbed the chemical training in which his elder brother was versed, and there de-
veloped a bond in their chemical interests which was to be almost as close as their blood relationship. William Chandler was graduated from Union in 1862 and then worked as an industrial chemist for five years. In the meantime his brother Charles was invited to Columbia in 1864. When Dr. Charles F. Chandler first came to New York he worked under a system patterned after the European plan, whereby the professor was paid by fees collected from students, plus remuneration from outside consulting work. Naturally the professor was active in seeking both sburces of income, but it was surprising how much work he always did gratis. The salary: situation became more certain when the trustees fixed it a t three thousand dollars per year in 1865. Since ~~
Chandler served as dean he also received extra remuneration. By 1876 he was getting seventy-five hundred dollars annually. His chief teaching duties were in the fields of general and industrial chemistry, although in his &st years he taught all branches of chemistry and mineralogy. Professor Chandler was one of a small group who organized the Columbia School of Mines. Almost simultaneously he began lecturing (1867) a t the College of Physicans and Surgeons four afternoons a week. In the early morning and a t odd times he performed investigations for the chemical industries--sugar refining, gas manufacture, petroleum, sulfuric acid, and so forth. About this time the New York College of Pharmacy, then occupying one room in old New York University on Washington Square, asked Dr. Chandler for help. He began by giving three evenings a week for five months. Then four hundred dollars was advanced for an assistant and a little necessary apparatus. Chandler's work a t his three teaching posts was well done and won proper recognition. He was on the staff a t the College of Physicians and Surgeons for twenty years; became President of the enlarged College of Pharmacy until it merged with Columbia; and was Dean of the School of Mines for thirty-three years. When the University moved to Morningside Heights in 1897 Chandler resigned as dean to become head of the University chemistry department until 1911. William Chandler's early industrial experience included contacts with the copper works a t New Bedford for several years until 1864, and then with the Swan Island Guano Company until 1867. With this practical experience, which broadened him for his subsequent work, he again followed his brother to study and teach a t Columbia. Here from 1868 to 1871 he served as instructor and received his A.M. degree in the latter year. During this period the brothers began one of their most important contributions to American chernistry-the publication of The Amevuan Chemist. When the Chandlers began their careers as editors and publishers they were only thirty-five and thirty years old, respectively. They saw the need for an American chemical journal when the American reprint of The Chemical N m s , which had been published from 1867 to 1870, was discontinued. The policies of the new journal are best described in the announcement (3) of the editors. "Tha American Chemist.-This journal will be devoted to Theoretical, Analytical, and Technical Chemistry, and the editors hope to make it a medium of communication for the chemists of the country, not only those who are engaged in theoretical investigation, but also those who are dwoted to the practical application of chemistry to the arts. Its columns will be open to all, and we solicit the coBperation and aid of every one who is enmeed in chemical DursuitS. The ~ l a nof the journal includes. in addition to such oririnal articles as mav he available. the reproduction of all such foreign and American matter as may be thought to be of interest to American chemists. "It will he the mission of this journal to expose humbug and fraud when they appear under the guise of science, and thus to
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aid in dispelling the too common prejudice against science which exists in the minds of many practical men who have been imposed upon by designing or ignorant pseudoscientists. "The time is fast approaching when American manufacturers will be compelled, by the small margins of profit and the necessity of economy in details, to follow the example of their European competitors, and invoke the aid and counsel of science, whenever it will enable them t o diminish the cost of production or improve the quality of the product. Already in many of the more advanced establishments, laboratories have been equipped, and chemists are now engaged in carefully scrutinizing all the details of manufacture. We see, in this, great promise far the future of the industrv of this cauntm. Heretofore, our factories, like our minrc, h a w been rundwted on a more or less cmwrical bu~is. I m r tllc n p i d growth uf the countr), and tllc high prowcrivc tariffsmndc i t pouible fur the manufacturer to rrap $8 h.+ndsomc profit notwithstanding. "Every day we are approaching more nearly the condition of things which prevails in Europ-sharp competition and small profits. We invite, therefore, the co6peration and encouragement of the manufacturers in the hope that more intimate relations may thus be established between them and the scientific men who are capable of improving their respective arts. "As we have purchased the subscription list and stock of the American reprint of The Chemical Neus, we shall make it our duty to present everything of value in the English edition, to the end of the current year. After this year The American Chemist will be conducted as an entirely independent journal. "The arrangements for the publication of this journal were made so late in June that it was impossible t o issue the present number on July 1st. We are determined, however, that in the future the journal shall appear in time for distribution before the first day of each month. CHAS.F. CHANDLER, PH.D. W. H. CHANDLER "The journal will be published monthly, and will contain forty pages of reading matter, forming one volume a year of four hundred eighty pages. "The subscription price is $5.00 per annum, in advance. Single copies, 50 cents-William Baldwin & Co., Publishers, 434 Broome St., N. Y."
The American Chemist was successfully published through seven volumes until April, 1877. The editors were very busy men who could combine lecturing, investigation, writing, and travel. The richness of their experience and manifold contacts aided in correlating their several tasks. Some of the activities of Dr. Charles Chandler have been told. During this period William Chandler was called to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to the chair of chemistry a t Lehigh University in 1871, a post left vacant by the death of Dr. Charles Mayer Wetherill. Here a t the rising young technical institution he began his long career as chemist, librarian, and author. In 1872 he received the Ph.D. degree from Hamilton College. In editing The American Chemist the brothers jointly shared the many tasks of such a publication. Included with scientific discussions by many authors were numerous articles appearing under their own signatures. Charles began reporting the results of his investigations of the milk supply of the Metropolitan District, which were to lead to his later extensive work in connection with the Board of Health of New York City. He also summarized (4) an account of his assay ton system of weights, the most important step made in assaying since Agricola's use of lesser and greater
weights in 1556. This well-known system is now universally adopted. William wrote on varied subjects: iodine, bromine, carbon photographs, and visits to foreign chemical plants. There were brevities, book reviews, notices from foreign sources, and correspondence. The most interesting and important number of The American Chemist is the special edition (5) recounting the Priestley celebration in 1874. The letter of H. C. Bolton suggesting a centennial of chemistry celebration; the suggestion of Professor R. L. Bodley naming Northumberland, Pennsylvania (Priestley's last home) as the place of meeting; and the invitation of the General Committee to the chemists of America to meet July 31, 1874 "To celebrate by appropriate exercises this memorable epoch in the history of chemistry" are all included. The main events a t the meeting were:
1. A general address by Professor Joseph Henry. 2. A sketch of the Life and Labors of Joseph Priestley by Professor Henry H. Croft. 3. A review of the Century's Progress in Theoretical Chemistry by Professor T. Sterry Hunt. 4. A review of the Century's Progress in Industrial Chemistry by Professor J. Lawrence Smith. 5. An essay on American Contributions to Chemistry by Professor Benjamin Silliman. All of this material is-invaluable to the historian of chemistry. The Chandlers attended the celebration, they reported the happenings, and they were foremost among those who formed the American Chemical Society in 1876-the germ of which undoubtedly was the mass visit to honor Priestley in 1874. The details of the organization meetings of the American Chemical Society were reported in the Chandler journal (6). At the first meeting in New York on April 6, 1876 Professor C. F. Chandler was elected President. At first the Society was conceived chiefly as a group of metropolitan chemists. Requests for a larger society were received immediately, however, and a second meeting was held on April 20, 1876 to accomplish this. Dr. Chandler asked that someone older than he be elected president, and so John W. Draper became the first President of the National Society. Both Chandlers were among the charter members of the Society, Charles being one of six vice-presidents. Subsequently Charles was honored with the presidency on two occasions. After 1877 the careers of the Chandlers naturally diverged more than before because of the demands of their respective tasks. There were still many conferences, exchanges of specimens, charts, slides, and mutual help. Both married well and had families. Dr. C. I?. Chandler married Anna M. Craig in 1863, and Dr. William Chandler married Mary Elizabeth Sayre in 1873. The manv activities of the Chandlers when all recounted sound like those of suDennen. The conce~tion and execution of these works are duly credited to them, but the working details were often performed by loyal
assistants of aU ranks. Many of these have risen to claim rewards in business and academic careers. Both Chandlers were masters of exposition and experimental demonstrations in general chemistry lectures. Tbose experienced in this field know how important are the services of faithful assistants in preparing lecture experiments. At Columbia for many years Louis H. Laudy was the man responsible for such work. Professor Bogert (7) relates that i t was humorously said "that Chandler must have graduated summa cum Laudy." At Lehigh a like task has been performed for more than fifty years by Henry C. Huettig-an assistant who still survives to prepare the Chandler experiments, although his first master has long since gone. Columbia sons and friends celebrated a Chandler Centenary last year and appropriately honored the memory of their famous "Charlie" by a series of meetings, lectures, and testimonies (8). Leading chemists such as Baekeland, Sherman, Bogert, Zons, Ittner, Whitaker, Fink, Metzger, Toch, and Child paid tribute to him as a great teacher, friend, chemist, and organizer. Dr. Haven Emerson (9) described the work of Charles Frederick Chandler as New York's first public health chemist. This humanitarian phase of his life began in 1867 when he made weekly examinations of water a t the old Fifth Avenue reservoir. In 1873Dr. Chandler was made commissionerof health and occupied this position for ten years, during which time he was considered the most alert and best-informed health officerin the United States. Careful and sometimes dramatic investigations were made of water and milk supplies, gas nuisances, kerosene explosions, ventilation, cosmetics, disinfectants, and the numerous other problems which affect the daily life of a great metropolis. The work included not only the analytical services of a great chemist, but the major problems of engineering as well. A personal letter from Dr. L. H. Baekeland recalls the fact that Charles Chandler was very active in the photographic worldandwaschief editorof theperiodical published by the Anthony photo supply house. Through Chandler, Dr. Baekeland was introduced to the Anthony firm and his enthusiasm was aroused to such a point that he decided to settle in the United States. Perhaps Velox paper and Bakelite plastic might not have become American products but for the influence of the charming and generous personality of Chandler. At Lehigh University Dr. William Henry Chandler soon became one of the leading figures on the campus. His chemical investigations and those of his students reflected the work of the surrounding i n d u s t r i e s zinc, iron, coal, cement. In 1871 a student society was organized a t Lehigh which was the first of its type in any American college. It was early known as the Chemical and Natural History Society. A museum was started and money secured by subscription to finance trips for specimens
from many states. Trips were made to Texas and Brazil for minerals, birds, and other specimens. Lectures were given by distinguished scientists, and students were brought in contact with leaders in their profession. The name and character of the Society has changed somewhat, but Chandler's little group has grown to be one of the largest student chemical societies in the country. In 1878 Dr. William Chandler-then and since referred to as "Billiew-became Director of the new Lehigh library in addition to his duties as head of the chemistry department. With a very liberal endowment, this placed him in a responsible position where he could purchase fine books and build up his technical journals. The breadth of his vision as a curator and collector is now witnessed by the many valuable collections owned by the library. While most complete in engineering and technical fields it also boasts rare editions in literary fields such as first editions of Shakespeare, Robert Boyle, Agricola, and so forth. By 1895 he could describe it as a library of 100,000 volumes, with an endowment of $500,000. Perhaps the greatest work which Dr. William H. Chandler performed a t Lehigh was the erection in 1884-85, of the unique laboratory which bears his name. Built of native sandstone, i t was originally designed to house departments of chemistry, metallurgy, and mineralogy. His careful plans included adequate ventilation through immense chimneys, maximum lighting, a system of speaking tubes for communication, centralized stock rooms, a large lecture room well arranged for visibility, and finely equipped laboratories. Like his brother at Columbia he also included a chemical museum, and it was one of his happy tasks to continually add new items of interest for his boys. The building cost 6200,000, a huge sum for the times, and was the best laboratory of its day. That "Billie" Chandler was proud and careful of his building is attested by a humorous note in the college year book, The Epitome, for 1887. "Students wishing to take friends through the laboratory must make a deposit of fifty cents with Professor Chandler, to provide for wear upon the building." Dr. Chandler made a study of five outstanding laboratories of his time and with the help of Professors Gooch of Yale, Drown of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Newbury of Cornell, he prepared and published a report (10)for the Universal Exposition of 1889 a t Paris, to which he was a commissioner. On several other occasions he bad served in a similar capacity. In 1876 he was a juror a t the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and in 1878 a t the Paris Exposition. He also served numerous times on the U. S. Coin Assay Commission. In his later years William Chandler undertook the monumental task of editing an encyclopedia. It was a three-volume edition of some 1700 pages, with many diagrams and colored maps. I t was entitled "Chandler's Encyclopedia" and is a credit to him as Editor-inChief. His chief assistant editors were F. M. Bird,
Editor of Lippincott's Magazine, C. W. Dietrich, E. M. Martin, and A. S. Martin, and there were experts handling the many special fields. Chandler himself contributed the material for twelve major fields of information. Dr. William Chandler's students praise his memory for all the attributes which make a great teacher. He was kind and sympathetic, and courteous in manner. Letters from Lehigh alumni attest his "lucid lectures and painstaking laboratory experiments." Others describe his zeal in obtaining employment for his analytical chemists. His labors on the campus reached all departments. Twice he served as acting President, in 1895 and again in 1904-05, and his temporary administrations were marked by efficiency. Ill health forced his retirement in 1906, and he died on November 23 of that year. His memory on the campus is perpetuated by the laboratory which he built, and which now bears his name, and also by annual student prizes endowed by his widow. Charles Frederick Chandler survived his younger brother by nineteen years and lived to receive many well-earned honors. When he retired in 1910 as emeritus professor, alumni and friends held a grand celebration for him and established the Chandler Lectureship and the Chandler Medal. The medal is given annually to a great scientist who has advanced far in that field which Chandler considered "the grandest sport of his day"+bemistry. His list of honors included degrees from New York University, Union College, Oxford, and Columbia.
He was President of the American Chemical Society in 1881 and 1889, President of the New York Chemists Club in 1899, President of the Society of Chemical Industry in 1900, and received the Perkin Medal in 1919. When he died on August 25, 1925 the public and scientific press paid him the highest tributes an American chemist had ever received. An editorial in The New York Times (11) lauds him as health defender, educator, and "one of New York's great and most useful citizens and withal one of the most genial and likeable of men.. . . . When we study the long list of chemists who have studied under him and reacted to his stimulus, the conclusion is inevitable that there was a catalytic force, a genius there, beyond analysis or symbolic expression." The combined teaching activities of the Chandler brothers cover eighty years of influence touching directly perhaps forty thousand students. The indirect influence through their writings and through students of their students can never be completely evaluated. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The writer is grateful for literature and letters furnished by Professors Zanetti, Baekeland, and Bogert of Columbia University, and for information from Mr. Leach, Librarian, and Professors Eckfeldt and Diefenderfer a t Lehigh University. Alumni of both institutions supplied additional information. Photographs were kindly furnished by Mrs. A. C. dodson, a daughter of Dr. William H. Chandler.
REFERENCES
(1) CHANDLER, G., editor, "The Chandler family," Charles Hamilton, Worcester, Mass., 1883, p. 1169. (2) HENDRICK,E., I.Ind. Eng. Chem., 17, 1090 (1925). (3) The American Chemist, 1, 1 (1870). Wm. Baldwin and Co.,
New York City. (4) CHANDLER, C. F., aid.,2,251 (1871). ( 5 ) Ibid., 5 , 35-114 (1874). (6) Ibid., 6, 401 (1876).
(7) BOGERT, M. T., Ind. Eng. Chm., 30, 118 (1938). (8) The Indicator, 18, (Oct.. 1937) published by the New York and North Jersey Sections of the A. C. S. H,, Science, 86, 453 (1937), (g) (10) CHANDLER, W. H., "The construction of chemical lahoratories," Government Printing Office, Washington, 1893. (11) The New York Times, August 27, 1925.
