p
w a&& California Association of Chemistry Teachers
Mel Gorrnan
of Son Francisco Son Francisco, Colifornia
Chemistry at the University
University
San Francisco, 1863-1906
I n every mass movement of population, clergymen of all faiths will be found in the vanguard, ministering to their respective brethren. As soon as the most urgent spiritual needs are satisfied, their attentions will be directed toward the founding of schools and colleges. I n this pattern, during the California Gold Rush, Italian Jesuit missionaries from the Oregon territory arrived in San Francisco in 1849. By 1855 the city had become somewhat civilized, and the Jesuits felt brave enough to found in the sand dunes on the outskirts of the city a small establishment of three frame buildings which they named St. Ignatius College, and which later developed into the University of San Francisco. I n 18G3 the original buildings were replaced by a substantial brick structure costing $100,000, and at this time, in rooms on the ground floor, the teaching of chemistry began. The beginning of chemistry teaching got off to an auspicious start by virtue of having an experienced instructor. Fr. Florentine Boudreaux had been teaching chemistry in the Jesuit college a t St. Louis for fifteen years, where a chemical laboratory (probably the first one west of the Mississippi) had been in operation since the early 1830's ( 1 ) . Although he remained in San Francisco for only a few semesters, the impression he left by his experience and ability lingered long after his departure. He was succeeded by Fr. Anthony Cichi, whose reputation as a chemist and mineralogist soon spread throughout California and Nevada. As a result he was frequently consulted by mining interests on the nature and value of ores. As an analyst he had the reputation of being without a peer on the Pacific Slope. Besides the competence of the teachers, another factor which contributed to a good beginning was the estahlishment of the laboratory. Information is fragmentary, hut the catalogue of 1863-64 reads: "The chenlical laboratory is furnished with all that is necessary for the most conlplicated n~anipulations and analysis." I n the succeeding catalogue, it is stated that "the department of mineralogy has been enriched by a well assorted collection of specimens." The inorganic chemistry teaching of the times must have derived some Presented before the Division of History of Chemistry at the 144t,h Meeting of the American Chemical Soeiet,y, Los Angeles, Calif., April, 1063.
benefit from this acquisition. I n 1864-65 a course in assaying was instituted. During this period, commencement exercises were more important to colleges and the community than they are now. They lasted two or three days, and consisted of lengthy programs, including orations in Latin and Greek, plays, debates, music, and lectures. Scientific lectures often were accompanied by experiments. At St. Ignatius College the scientific demonstrations at graduation became the outstanding features of the whole program right from the start. At the commencement of 1863, the program lists "Experimental illustrations in Chemistry, by the students of the class." No comment on this event is available, hut this is not true of the commencement of 1864, in which appeared two lecture demonstrations by students, one on "Assaying and Smelting of Copper Ores" and the other on "Properties of Oxygen." San Francisco's most influential newspaper reported the details in full on the front page (2). These experiments seem very simple to us today, but a century ago they were considered quite remarkable, and here is a portion of the newpaper's description: The great basement hall of the college, large and spacious, was filled to its utmost capacity with the elite of the city and country, who constituted a most resoeetful audience. The exercises of the
experiments in the whole process of assaying, smelting, and refining, and was highly interesting. In the evening, the closing lecture, by Francis Leonard, in which many nice and rare chemical experiments were made, showed a thorough knowledge of the nature and properties of the gases, acids, minerals, etc., and had a fine m d entertaining effect. The College is provided with B complete set of apparatus, and nothing was wanting to illustrate the lecture throughout with practical experiments.
Cichi's involvement with miners and mining engineers as consultant and analyst, and the chemical topics a t commencements, gave to St. Ignatius College the beginnings of a prestige in science during the '60's which was to grow and become characteristic of the development of the institution. A turning point in the life of the young college occurred in 1869, when a new president who was a scientist as well as an administrator assumed office. Fr. Volume 41, Number 1 1 , November 1964
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Joseph Bayma (3) was an Italian who had just spent six years in England. He was a mathematician and what we would call today a theoretical physicist, and author of a book, "Elements of Molecular Mechanics," (Macmillan and Co., London, 1866), which dealt with the properties of matter in terms of forces, atoms, and molecules. Of interest to chemists, are his ideas on stereochemistry, which he derived from a synthesis of the atoms of Boscovich and the chemical equivalents of Regnault; this was three years before Paterno's speculation on the tetrahedral carbon atom and eight years before the asymmetric carbon of van't Hoff and Le Be1 (4). I n 1863 a paper of Bayma's had been read before the Royal Society of London and in 1869 he published four papers in the Philosophical Transactions (5). So here was an active and creative scientist a t the head of a small college on t.he frontier. He went to work immediately by raising academic standards, purchasing more apparatus, and designing a three-story building with greatly increased space for science, which was finished at the end of 1869 and occupied in 1870. It contained sixteen classrooms. I n addition there was a chemistry lecture room and a laboratory on the first floor, and a physics lecture room and a display room for storage of the demonstration equipment. An assaying office and museum of mineralogy completed the scientific lay-out. The catalogue of this year informs us that "the scientific department is furnished with a very extensive and choice collection of apparatus manufactured to order in Paris." Bayma's devotion to science was complemented by the timely simultaneous arrival of another Italian scientist, Fr. Joseph Neri (6). The latter was very versatile, being well grounded in all branches of chemistry and physics, but specializing in spectroscopy and electricity, and an eloquent lecturer and gifted experimentalist. IIe was to become the dominant figure of science in his college for twenty years. With apparatus made to order coming in rapidly from France, optical instruments made by Duboscq, electrical by Rumkhoff, as well as from Americans such as Ritchie in Boston, Neri began a career of classroom teaching and public demonstration which almost a t once made his name a by-word in soience in California. The decade 187&80 was an active and progressive one. The first mention of a laboratory fee is in the 1869-70 catalogue. The monthly fee for the use of instruments and chemicals was three dollars for the first year and five dollars for the second year. The second year course may have been organic or analytical, but organic is not mentioned explicitly until 1872-73, and analytical not until 1874-75. I n 1875 the chemistry laboratory had 250 high purity chemicals. Che:nical lecture demonstrations appear in some of the conlmencements. In 1871 the students gave a series of public scientific lectures, and some of the topics were chemical. I t is interesting to note that the newspapers gave about as much space to the students as to Neri. For instance, the San Francisco Call of February 9, 1871, carried a full account of the preceding night's program. The subject was the properties of water, the lecture being delivered by one student, and the demonstrations performed by two others. A large audience was in attendance, and the paper lists the following experiments: 628
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Journal o f Chernicol Education
Electrolysis and projection by the electric arc light Properties of oxygen-combustion of coal, ateel, phosphorus Properties of hydrogen-combustibility, lightness, explosivenoss .... Full rigged bxllom for apri:d navigaliorl Rcunmn of hyrlrogen : ~ n dox,vgm --.aster irmr fire Siucurc flnmes-musir~l anrrlds irr tlrr forlnsrion ol water from ii$ erements Chemical t e a t s of solutes, projected Oxyhydrogen blowpip-melting and burning of brass, iron, steel
...
At the end of the decade St. Ignatius College participated in a survey by questionnaire which was designed to evaluate the teaching of chemistry and physics in America. The results were published in a "Report of the Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the United States," Circulars of Information of the U.S. Bureau of Education, No. 6, 1880. Chemists can attach a high degree of reliability to this report, for it was compiled by a chemist, indeed a very distinguished one, Frank W. Clarke (1847-1931) (7). He was chief chemist for the U.S. Geological Survey from 1883 to 1931, author of the great treatise, Data of Geochemistry, first chairman of the International Committee on Atomic Weights, president of the American Chemical Society in 1901, and publisher of a t least one paper for sixty consecutive years (except 1925). From the approximately 500 colleges and universities responding, Clarke selected and described 120 as superior. St. Ignatius College was included in this category. I n order to be eligible for this rating, the report states that "only those institutions are described in the text in which laboratory work is done by students and carried as far as a course in qualitative analysis." St. Ignatius College had two years of general chemistry with qualitative and quantitative analysis. This combination of offerings is marked with an asterisk, indicating an "unusual or remarkable course." At this time, the College was in a prosperous condition, and in 1880 it was able to move to a new and larger location on a site across the street from the present Opera House and Civic Center. The contemporary press had this to say (8): A branch of study which rereives great attention is that rela& ing to ores. The Fathers recognize the fact that this i8 a mineral country, and that many of their pupils may become interested in mining development. They therefore prepare those who d e sire it, thoroughly, so that they may have more than a mere smattering of mining knowledge. . . S o complete, in iact, are the facilities of the college in this direction [assaying] that substances from the outside have been sent for purposes of analysis. Working tests of ores are made and the necessary directions given so that the pupil is thoroughly prepared for practical work. Both the wet and dry processes are followed. The object aimed a t here i s . . .not to obtain certain results alone but to thoroughly understand why certain results fallow upon certain methods. Ore analysis is a branch of the chemical department, and the school of instruction here has certainly no superior in the State, either in the rank of the professors who instruct or in the necessary appliances for inatructian.
There are some excellent pictures of the scientific facilities in the university archives, taken by the famous California photographer, Carleton Watlcins (18291916) (9),one of which is shown here. The picture of the lecture room was taken in 1880. The huge pneumatic trough and large jars testify to the volume of gases collected for demonstrations. Built into the left wall (not shown) was a ten foot wide brick and
Chemistry lecture room,
1880
iron fnrnace, a modificat,ion of Faraday's furnace a t the Royal Institution. On the rear wall were five largc charts from Germany and France depicting industrial processes such as the n~anufactureof sulfuric acid and alcohol. I n 1892 Yeri coniplcted his teaching career a t the collcge, having served for 23 years, with the exception of 1876-78 when chemistry was taught by Fr. Amandus Wenzel and 1878-79 when I+. Joseph Sasia (1843-1929) was in charge. The forn~erwas the suhject of the only recorded chcmical accident in the early days of the institution; on August 21, 1877, while demonstrating with hydrogen in a glass jar, the contents exploded and fragments of glass penetrated his eye, but fortunately he was not blinded. Neri was succeeded for two years bv Mr. Bell. S.J. (1861-1936). .. who after the turn of the century was to become known as the "California Marconi" for his researches in wireless telegraphy. Then folloTVetl pr, H~~~~woods (1854-1936), who was renowned for prodigious knowledge in biology, chemistry, geology, ~nathematics,and physics, and who was proticient enough as an experinientalist to avoid any fatalities to hi~riself,his student assistants, or to his audience while giving a public lecture denlonstration, "Explosives," on March 15, 1898. At the t,um of the century, the teaching and public lecturing of a young .Jesuit, Frederick Iiuppert (1878192.31, reflected the revolutiollary discoveries of X-rays and radioactivity which had been made a few years before. He gave public lectures embracing demonstration of all of the inportant phenomena of high vacuum discharge, for exanlple, the rectilillear propagation of electrons, t,heir inertia, and magnetic interaction. Xrays were produced and their effects shown. I n 1904 the college purchased in Austria one gram of radium bromide for experinrental studies. The price of this itelti dllrillg this year varied from $GOOOto ~15,000, When it is considered that the the discovevy of radium was made in December, 1898, by
the Curies, and that Madame Curie obtained pure radium chloride only in 1902, this early purchase indicates a comn~endablealertness and appreciation concerning the new phenomena associated with radioactivity. Ruppert made a nnmber of radiographs which he placed on public display. On April 18, 1906 the earthquake and subsequent fires devastated most of San Francisco. St. Ignatius College was wiped out con~pletely. Not a single piece of apparatus, not one book from three libraries, not even the rare gram of radium bromide was saved. I n rebuilding, a site in the sparsely settled western part of the city was chosen, and the resolve was made to begin construction immediately so that classes could resume on schedule. At a time of citywide shock and chaos, this decision was given considerable editorial nraise in the daily press. g u t even before the buildingwas half complete, Ruppert was sent to Europe to purchase chemicals and equipment. Early in October, one month after the opening of the semester, 22 cases arrived with his purchase and "students and professors alike were jubilant a t the sight of the richness of the scientific outfit." (10) During the academic years 1906-08, 87600 was spent on replenishing the appartus for physics and chemistry. From this t h e onward, chemistry a t St. Ignatius College began a slow evolution from a typical liberal arts subject into a curriculun~for professionally oriented students of science. The name of the institution was changed to the University of San Francisco in 1930. At present the chemistry staff consists of six full time members engaged in teaching and research, and two lecturers. literature cited ( 1 ) HALE,H., J. C ~ MEDUC., . 14, 63 ( N 3 7 ) . ( 2 ) Daily Alto California, July 1, 1864, p. 1. ( 3 ) Didionart1 qf American Biagmphz,, Vol. 2, Charles Srrihner's Sons, Xew York, 1929, p. 79. ( 4 ) GIIRMAN, M., "Stereochernid concept,^ in the RInlerular
S,ystem of Joseph Bsyrna," paper 1.ea.d at the X t h International Congress qf th,e Hiatory of Science, Ith;ira, Xew York, August, 1962. ( 5 ) BAYMA, JOSEPH, PPOC. Roy. Sot., 13, 126 (1864): Phil. Mag.,37, 182, 2 i 5 , 348,431 (1x69). ( 6 ) National Cvelopaedia qf American Riogrnphy, \ . o I 21, James T . White and Co., New York, 1931, 1,. 168. ( 7 ) ATARTIN, A, J, EDUC,, 30r 567 ( l B W , : .\II.NROE, C. E., J . Am. Chem. Soc., 57, 21 (in proceedings section) (1935); DENNIS.L. M., Nat. ilcad. Sri. Hiog. lllr=rn., 15, 1 : 3 ~(1934). ( 8 ) Journal q l Coarnwce. The exact date of publication is onknown, but from internal evidence it must have heen hetween February 1 and July 1 , 1XRfi. (hgary's [ , h i m
n,,
List of .Vfwspapers does not recold m y surviving copies in this period. The quotatiun is taken from s reprint in Woodstock I,etters, 16, 217, 219-20 (1886). (0) JOHNSON, J. W., /:niversitg of California Clhtw K I S O W T ~ S ('entw Arehirw Series, No. 8, 1 (1960). ( l o ) Undated typescript of Fr. John P. Frieden, president of the rollege, in the university archives.
Volume
41, Number I 1 ,
November
1964 / 629
