BULLETIN FOR THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society VOLUME 35 Number 2 2010 BULLETIN Editor 2011 – CUMULATIVE AUTHOR AND SUBJECT INDICES 1988 – 2010 BULLETIN FOR THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY VOLUME 35, CONTENTS NUMBER 1 THE 2009 EDELSTEIN ADDRESS SONS OF GENIUS: CHEMICAL MANIPULATION AND ITS SHIFTING NORMS FROM JOSEPH BLACK TO MICHAEL FARADAY Trevor Harvey Levere, University of Toronto, Canada 1 ‘AFFINITY’: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACOLOGY R B Raffa and R .J. Tallarida, Temple University School of Pharmacy (RBR) and Temple University Medical School (RJT) 7 REVISITING PHARMACY MORIANEN: REVEALING FIRST TRACES OF ELEMENTAL SILICON IN A LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT Lars Hälldahl, K-analys AB, Uppsala 17 BÖTTGER’S EUREKA! : NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE EUROPEAN REINVENTION OF PORCELAIN Nicholas Zumbulyadis, Independent Scholar (Retired, Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories, Rochester, NY) 24 REINVESTIGATING VESTIUM, ONE OF THE SPURIOUS PLATINUM METALS James L. Marshall and Virginia R Marshall, University of North Texas, Denton 33 THREE CRUCIAL SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS FROM MISTAKEN HYPOTHESES M. John Plater, University of Aberdeen 40 HENRY EYRING: A MODEL LIFE K.A. Dambrowitz and S.M. Kuznicki, University of Alberta 46 LOST ARTIFACTS? The Anna Lea Painting 54 BOOK REVIEWS 56 RECOLLECTIONS - Kasimir Fajans 62 NUMBER 2 NEW EDITOR FOR THE BULLETIN 65 HISTORY OF HIST. II. ON PROBATION James J. Bohning, Lehigh University 66 HENRY EYRING: QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, STATISTICAL MECHANICS, THEORY OF LIQUIDS, AND SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURE THEORY Douglas Henderson, Brigham Young University 81 FINDING EKA-IODINE: DISCOVERY PRIORITY IN MODERN TIMES Brett F. Thornton, Stockholm University, and Shawn C. Burdette, University of Connecticut 86 AURORAL CHEMISTRY: THE RIDDLE OF THE GREEN LINE Helge Kragh, University of Aarhus, Denmark 97 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MERCURY LAMP Mordecai B. Rubin, Technion, Haifa, Israel 105 CARL BOSCH AND HIS MUSEUM Fathi Habashi, Laval University 111 FEUDING RULE MAKERS: ALEKSANDR MIKHAILOVICH ZAITSEV (1841-1910) AND VLADIMIR VASIL’EVICH MARKOVNIKOV (1838-1904) David E. Lewis, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire 115 BOOK REVIEWS 125 INDEX 135 Bull. Hist. Chem., VOLUME 35, Number 2 (2010) 65 NEW EDITOR FOR THE BULLETIN Effective January 1, 2011, Carmen J. Giunta will assume the position of editor of the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. Paul R. Jones is the second The founding editor, Dr. editor who has served since William B. Jensen, initi- 1995. ated the journal—only one of two English-language periodicals dedicated ex- clusively to the history of chemistry—in 1988, with the publication of issue “Number 1.” Send all correspondence concerning manuscripts and Continue to direct any inquiries about HIST membership book reviews to the new editor: and library subscriptions to: Dr. Carmen J. Giunta Dr. Vera V. Mainz Department of Chemistry School of Chemical Sciences Le Moyne College U. Illinois Syracuse, NY 13214 Urbana, IL 61801 [email protected] [email protected] 66 Bull. Hist. Chem., VOLUME 35, Number 2 (2010) HISTORY OF HIST. II. ON PROBATION (1, 2) James J. Bohning, Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University Introduction papers submitted required a new mechanism to fit them into the four-day period. For the first time the initial gen- One of the more important results of the reorganization eral session was followed by simultaneous sessions for of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 1890 was papers in five specialties—physical, organic, inorganic, the advent of the national meeting, in which the society and industrial chemistry, plus a larger group that included broke from its cocoon in New York City and spread its agricultural, sanitary, and physiological chemistry (6). wings to envelop chemists throughout the country as Pressure was building on the society from another active participants (3). Registration statistics for the direction as well, however. A number of new organiza- last decade of the nineteenth century are meager, but it tions were being formed that focused on a specific area appears that no more than a few hundred people attended of chemistry, and many ACS members were joining this usually biannual affair. these new societies (Fig. 1). In January, 1908, the ACS The growth of chemical activity in both academe Council formed the ACS Division of Industrial Chemists and industry during that time led inevitably to specializa- and Chemical Engineers. By the end of that year there tion as chemists in general and the society in particular were four more divisions: agricultural and food chemis- attempted to cope with a flood of new information. The try, fertilizer chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical first time papers at a national meeting were segregated by and inorganic chemistry. All of these groups had been subject occurred at the World’s Congress of Chemists in loosely organized into what were called sections since the Chicago in 1893, when 76 presentations were arranged in Philadelphia meeting and now were given a formal status nine different categories (4). Nevertheless, for the next (7). According to ACS Secretary Charles L. Parsons, ten years national meetings of the ACS consisted of single “Each division has every advantage which can come to sessions, often with long general interest papers and what an entirely separate organization and enjoys likewise seems to be considerable emphasis on social events. the great additional advantage which comes with union and strength in numbers, functioning independently and In 1903 the ACS Council appointed a committee conducting their specialized affairs and programs with to study the feasibility of forming divisions organized almost complete autonomy (8).” In fact, each division along technical lines. At its next meeting the Council had “the right to elect their own officers, to draw up their rejected the committee’s recommendations that five own by-laws subject to approval of the Council. .and groups be formed (5). Yet at the next national meeting to collect, control, and manage funds to be expended for in Philadelphia in December, 1904, the large number of their own purposes (8).” It was an obvious attempt at Bull. Hist. Chem., VOLUME 35, Number 2 (2010) 67 Year Society Percent Charter Members also ACS I could find of interest (12).” In view of the expected visi- 1902 [American] Electrochemical Society 29% (of 350) tors from England, Browne 1906 New York Section, Society of Chemical Industry 25% (of 3079) solicited Smith’s opinion 1906 American Society of Biological Chemists 50% about his discussing “the re- 1908 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (“many,” including all officers) lations between Old England Figure 1. New Organizations Formed out of the ACS 1902–1908 (10) and New England in alchemy and chemistry,” including the preventing more ACS members from bolting from the relations of Robert Boyle and society and forming new specialty organizations. others with George Starkey, John Winthrop, Robert By the time Edgar Fahs Smith and Charles A, Child, and Jonathan Brewster (12, 13). Browne held the first HIST meeting under a shade tree Just a month before the New York meeting Smith on the campus of Northwestern University in August, told Browne that he “had a letter from Professor [Lyman 1921 (2), five more divisions had been added; and five C.] Newell of Boston, who tells me that he is coming more were in the required “probationary” period. Called to New York and hopes our little history section will “sections” rather than “divisions,” these probationary meet, as he has some portraits and letters he would groups had to hold “a sufficient number of successful like to show (14).” Browne responded three days later, meetings to prove the need for them” and thus be ap- indicating that he would have a “twenty-minute paper proved by the ACS Council (8). At the end of the second subtitled ‘A Sketch of Alchemy in Seventeenth- century informal HIST meeting held in Rochester, NY in April, New England’ for the historical section, if we meet, and 1921, Smith rejected a suggestion to form a “Section of some photographs of old letters (15).” Smith responded Historical Chemistry,” preferring to “let things develop somewhat petulantly, “Of course the History Group will freely and spontaneously.” Smith was convinced that meet. [Frank B.] Dains will be there. Newell is coming there would be more interest developed in this manner with letters and books, and [Wilder D.] Bancroft desires rather than a formal schedule of papers as a section or three minutes for the presentation of some ancient point. division might arrange (2). Adolph, a professor from China, is prepared to give us some points in early chemistry in that land (16).” Preparing for the New York Meeting (Fall Evidently prompted by Browne’s preparation of 1921) a paper, Smith sent Browne a short manuscript that he thought he would read “before our Section on the History That situation was soon to change. During the summer of Chemistry.” Titled “The First History of Chemistry of 1921 Smith and Browne continued to correspond, ex- in the English Language,” it discussed the “Introduc- changing photographs, books, autographs, and informa- tory Lecture” written by Thomas Cooper and published tion about recent additions to their respective collections in Carlisle, PA in 1812. Smith claimed it was the “first (9). In addition, they discussed the forthcoming ACS history of science in our tongue, and written here in meeting in New York, at which a portrait of