Alexander Porfirivich Borodin, Physician, Chemist and Composer

ALEXANDER PORFIRIVICH BORODIN PHYSICIAN, CHEMIST AND COMPOSER* By F. WILLIAM SUNDERMAN, M.D., Ph.D. PHILADELPHIA N THE Lancet of 1887 there ap din gladly accepted this assertion and peared an obituary of the physi never bothered to verify its correctness. cian and chemist, Alexander Por Alexander Porfirivich Borodin was firivich Borodin, which, after out the illegitimate son of Prince Luke Ilining briefly his eminent scientificGhedeanof, a descendant of the last career, closed with this casual state rulers of Emeretia, which was an ancient ment, “He is, indeed, said to have ren kingdom in the Caucasus. His paternal dered valuable service to the cause of ancestors claimed to be descended from music in Russia." Now, after the pass David and adopted the harp and sling ing of fifty years, the fact that Borodin for their coat-of-arms. His mother, had been a distinguished laboratory Eudoxia Kleineke, was twenty-five years physician who had received recognition of age and his father sixty-two at the throughout the world is almost forgot time of his birth. The child was given ten; his claim to immortality arises the name “Borodin, ’ the surname of chiefly front his accomplishments as a one of his father’s slaves. musical composer, which he, himself, Borodin was reared in a pleasant regarded as “a recreation, a pastime, maternal environment. His mother was and an avocation that distracts me from cultured, beautiful and financially in my principal activity as a professor." dependent. In youth he was of such deli cate physique that some of his relatives To Borodin art and science were in believed him to be tuberculous and ad separable throughout his entire life, vised his mother not to spend too much yet he found only an hour or so a day time and money on his education, since, to devote to music and preferred to be in their opinion, the expenditure would known merely as a “Sunday” musician. probably be fruitless. His mother, how Fhe birth year of Borodin is ques ever, took exceptionally good care of tionable. Though he may have been him physically and, despite the advice born in the year 1833, on his tombstone of her relatives, she had him tutored in the year of his birth is recorded as 1834. French, German and music and gave On October 31, 1873, Eastern Calen him every educational advantage. Early dar (November 12, Western Calendar) in childhood Borodin displayed a re Borodin wrote, “today is my fortieth markable talent for music and at the birthday.” On that same day, however, age of nine composed a polka entitled an old servant in his family told him he “Helene” in honor of a woman living was only thirty-nine years of age. Boro in his home. At the age of twelve he * Read before Section on Medical History, College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Decem ber 13, 1937. received lessons on the Hute and ’cello science was beginning to be emphasized and began to express enthusiasm for in the university curricula. Courses in the playing of chamber music. At this chemistry and physics became poptdar with students and superseded to some extent those in philosophy and history. Encouraged by his mother, Borodin en tered the St. Petersburg Academy of Medicine in 1850 and was soon at tracted to the academy’s chemistry de partment, then under the direction of Professor Zinin. Although Borodin was naturally very shy, it did not require long for Zinin to appreciate his real enthusiasm for chemistry and to recog nize in this youngster his own possible successor, whom later he accepted as an adopted son. As a student Borodin was brilliant; the only criticism offered of his examinations pertained to his habit of quoting the Scriptures too freely. Writing in the Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry in 1880, Borodin de scribed the chemistry laboratory and Zinin, the professor who had such a profound influence upon his later life: His [Zinin’s] laboratory was the meet ing place of young scientists who regu larly came to visit with him. These young fellows were eager to share with Zinin early period he wrote a concerto for the results of their experiments and to flute with piano accompaniment and receive his advice, to discuss their ideas also a string trio for two violins and and plans, etc. His laboratory was trans ’cello. formed into a miniature chemistry club During his adolescent years Borodin and meeting place where the ideas of the became fascinated with the study of young Russian chemists were exchanged. chemistry. The rooms in his apartment Here Zinin in his high-pitched voice were filled with jars and beakers from would explain enthusiastically the newer which he prepared his own fireworks ideas and for lack of chalk and black and water-colors. These boyhood lean board would write on the dusty table with his finger the equations of those reac ings toward music and science later tions which have such an important place into the developed absorbing interests in the chemical literature. ... I remem of his life. ber especially the Monday evenings when At the beginning of the fifties, when there would be gathered a small but in Borodin was sixteen or seventeen years teresting group of scholars and scientists. of age, a new era in higher education In his small study there would be heated was evolving in which the study of debates and discussions. At these gather ings Zinin would display his intellectual cal school, Borodin went to Heidelberg power, vast knowledge, outstanding mem to work in Erlenmeyer’s laboratory with ory, keen and original humor. his Russian friend, Mendelieff. During the three happy years he spent in It may be interesting to note that Heidelberg Borodin began research Zinin’s outstanding achievement in sci work in organic chemistry and pub ence was his work that led to the lished several articles in English, French preparation of aniline derivatives from and German chemical journals. aromatic nitro compounds and thus Borodin and Mendelieff spent their initiated the study of the chemistry of summer vacations largely in travel. dyes. Mendelieff describes their trips in a Borodin’s friends at the Academy very vivid manner: were in the main not Russian students We would travel with light baggage— but Germans, whom as a group he con just a bag for the two of us. We wore sidered more cultured and more inter blouses and tried to pass for artists, since ested in music. So many of their eve in Italy this has financial advantages. We nings were devoted to the playing of bought underwear on the way which later chamber music that Zinin on one oc we would give to the waiters as tips. In casion reproached Borodin, saying, this way we visited Venice, Verona and “You would do better to become less Milan in the spring of i860. In the fall occupied with your music. You know of the same year we visited Genoa and I am depending upon you to succeed Rome. During our first trip we had an me, but you are thinking only of music. interesting adventure. Near Verona our railway coach was searched by the Aus You are making a mistake by chasing trian police for an Italian who had been twTo rabbits at the same time.’’ held as a political prisoner and who had After completing his studies at the escaped. The southern features of Borodin medical school, Borodin obtained an attracted the attention of the police who internship at the Military Hospital in believed that Borodin was the fugitive St. Petersburg where for the first time whom they sought. They inspected our he met Moussorgsky, a young subaltern baggage and questioned us but found in one of the fashionable regiments of out that we were just poor Russian stu Russian guards. Moussorgsky, like dents and so left us alone. Borodin, was also interested in com We had scarcely crossed the Austrian border when our fellow passengers in the posing music. By virtue of this mutual coach started to hug and kiss us and to hobby, they became intimate friends. shout “Evviva.” The fugitive had really The year following his internship been in our group and had crossed the Borodin prepared a thesis on the anal border without being recognized. Thus ogy between arsenious and phosphoric thanks to the suspected features of Boro acid and received a medical degree on din, the fugitive had escaped the clutches May 3, 1858. He practiced medicine of the Austrian government. for only a short time after internship, While a student at Heidelberg, Boro since his interests lay in the academic din met Catharine Protopopoff, who aspects of medicine and especially in later became his wife. This girl, an ac the fields of physiological and organic complished pianist, had come to Heidel chemistry. berg for a rest following a concert en The year after graduation from medi gagement in Moscow. Their mutual love of music and the fact that they were aims were Rimsky-Korsakoff, a former Russians living in a foreign country naval cadet; Moussorgsky, the military played a large part in bringing about officer; and Borodin. This small group their affection for each other. In her which played such an important role in memoirs Catharine wrote concerning the advancement of musical composi their friendship in Heidelberg: tion during the past few decades became known as the “Kouchka” or the “Rus He [Borodin] became like a brother to me, taking care of my health, my treat sian Circle of Five.” It would seem ments, and even my financial affairs. Ac significant that the “Kouchka” was companied by a friend, R, I often went to composed essentially of men of science, Baden Baden to play roulette and would Balakireff having been a mathema lose considerable money.

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