T HE DISC OVERY OF CR O W N ET HERS Nobel lect ure, Dece mber 8, 1987 b y C H ARLES J. PE DERSE N E. I. d u Pont de Ne mo urs an d Co m pany, Wil mington, Dela ware 19898 La dies an d Gentle men, Dear Colleag ues, T his is a w o n d erf ul d a y i n m y lif e, a n d I a m l o o ki n g f or w ar d t o s h ari n g m y t ho ug hts wit h yo u. Before I be gi n, I wo ul d li ke to co n ve y t he war m greeti n gs of t he peo ple of S al e m C o u nt y, N e w J ers e y - w h er e I h a v e li v e d f or m a n y y e ars - t o t h e p e o pl e of S we den. Sale m Co unty is where a very early S we dish settle ment was est a blis h e d i n 1 6 4 3. N e xt y e ar w e will j oi n wit h t h e p e o pl e of o ur n ei g h b ori n g state of Dela ware to celebrate t he 350t h a n ni versary of t he first la n di ng of S we des in the Ne w Worl d at The Rocks in Wil mington, Dela ware. We look for war d to t he visit of His Majesty Ki ng Carl X VI G ustaf a n d Her Majesty Q uee n Sil via a n d ot hers fro m S we de n to o ur celebratio n next A pril. N o w I w o ul d li k e t o dis c uss t h e dis c o v er y of t h e cr o w n et h ers. I will di vi d e m y l e ct ur e i nt o t hr e e p arts. First, beca use e ver y disc o ver y ta kes place i n m ore t ha n a scie ntific c o ntext, I wo ul d like to to uc h o n my life a n d backgro u n d. I n t he weeks si nce it was a n no u nce d t hat I wo ul d s hare t his year’s prize i n c he mistry, peo ple ha ve e x pr ess e d as m u c h i nt er est i n m y e arl y lif e as t h e y h a v e i n m y l at er w or k. S o I t hi n k it a p pr o pri at e t o e x pr ess m ys elf o n t h e m att er. It m a y als o b e t h at d et ails of m y past ha ve more t ha n cas ual beari n g o n m y wor k. Seco n d, I wo ul d like to describe for yo u my researc h progra m a n d so me of t h e s p e cifi c e v e nts t h at l e d t o t h e dis c o v er y of t h e first cr o w n et h er. Si n c e I a m t he o nly o ne w ho k no ws at first ha n d t he excite me nt a n d pleas ure of t he disco ver y, I will de vote a portio n of m y ti me to s hari n g t his ex perie nce wit h y o u. A n d t hir d, I wo ul d li ke to disc uss t he pro perties a n d pre paratio n of cro w n et h ers. I n d oi n g s o, I h o p e I will c o n v e y t o y o u t h at I w as al w a ys a “ h a n ds- o n ” c h e mist; I t o o k s atisf a cti o n fr o m w h at I di d i n t h e l a b or at or y. Als o, I w as v er y m uc h a n i n d ustrial c he mist a n d was al wa ys i ntereste d i n t he pote ntial a p plica- tio n of my work. I n fact, w he n I s ub mitte d my first major pa per o n t he dis c o v er y of t h e cr o w n et h ers, t h e e dit or of t h e Journal of the A merica n Che mical S o ciet y, Mars hall Gates, re marke d t hat my descri ptio ns were re plete wit h i n d ustrial jargo n. Fort u nately he p ublis he d t he pa per a ny way. 4 9 6 Che mistry 1987 Perso nal backgro u nd Let me start t he n wit h ho w I bega n life a n d we nt o n to disco ver t he cro w n et hers. My fat her, Bre de Pe derse n, was bor n i n Nor way i n 1865 a n d trai ne d as a mari ne e n gi neer. D ue to si bli n g dis har mo n y, he left ho me for goo d as a yo u n g ma n a n d s hi p pe d o ut as a n e n gi neer o n a stea m frei g hter t o t he Far East. He e v e nt u all y arri v e d i n K or e a a n d j oi n e d t h e fl e et of t h e K or e a n c ust o ms, w hi c h was a d mi nistere d b y t he Britis h. He r ose i n ra n k a n d later j oi ne d o ne of t he largest Ja pa nese stea ms hi p li nes a n d beca me a c hief e ngi neer. T he n a trage dy o c c urr e d t h at c h a n g e d t h e c o urs e of his lif e. A c hil d h o o d dis e as e t o o k t h e lif e of my el der brot her w hile my fat her was a way fro m ho me o n a lo ng jo ur ney. He aba n do ne d t he sea a n d beca me a mec ha nical e ngi neer at t he U nsa n Mi nes i n w hat is no w t he nort h wester n sectio n of prese nt- day Nort h Korea. My mot her, Taki no Yas ui, was bor n i n 1874 i n Ja pa n. S he ha d acco m pa nie d h er f a mil y t o K or e a w h e n t h e y d e ci d e d t o e nt er a l ar g e-s c al e tr a d e i n s o y b e a ns an d silk wor ms. They establishe d hea dq uarters not far fro m the Unsan Mines, w here s he met m y fat her. The Unsan Mines were an A merican gol d an d lu mber concession, 500 s q uare miles i n area. It ha d bee n gra nte d b y t he E m peror of Korea to a n A merica n merc ha nt na me d Ja mes R. Morse prior to 1870. I was co nceive d t here i n mi d- wi nter j ust before t he start of t he R usso-Ja pa nese war. Freq ue nt i nc ursio ns b y Cossac ks across t he Yal u Ri ver i nto t he re gio n of t he mi nes were consi dere d to en danger my mother, so she an d several A merican la dies were s e nt s o ut h b y c arri a g e t o t h e r ail h e a d f or s af et y.