Bull. Hist. Chem., VOLUME 39, Number 1 (2014) 73 IN DEFENSE OF THE USE OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE IN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION, 1965-1985: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DELIBERATIONS AND AN INGENIOUSLY CLEVER TAKEOFF ON THE THEME BY R. B. WOODWARD Joseph Gal, Departments of Medicine and Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045,
[email protected] and Jeffrey I. Seeman, Department of Chemistry, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, jseeman@ richmond.edu Supplemental Material Abstract Introduction For many decades, French scientists, the French The international nature of chemistry—indeed, of Académie des Sciences, and the government of France science—is a truism. Operationally, however, the practice have been concerned about the declining use of French of doing and communicating chemistry is not equally within the scientific milieu and the trend toward English and symmetrically shared throughout the world. That is as the universally-accepted language to communicate also a truism. The evidence that English has become the science. This trend is discussed with a focus on the issues unofficial language throughout the world in chemistry most vigorously debated in the time period 1965-1985, is multifold. For example, English is the only accepted including the reduced use of French in international sci- language of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the official entific communication resulting from the dominance of journal of the International Union of Pure and Applied English. A summary of the merging of national-chemical- Chemistry (IUPAC). Indeed, there has been a gradual society journals into international journals is also present- disappearance of non-English chemistry journals over ed.