July, I9r3.] ~ELLIOTTCRESSON" MEDAL AWARDS. Io7 the existence of a number of other elements of the same type, and Sir William succeeded in a short time in discovering helium. Three further elements of the same group--neon, krypton and xenon--were afterward dis- covered by Sir William, associated with Morris William Travers. As the result of an investigation taken up by him, following Bec- querel's discovery of the dark rays of uranium, Sir William made his greatest discovery--that of the apparent transmutation of one element into another. The gaseous emanation of radium, which at first had behaved as an entirely new body, showed after some time the lines of helium, and, finally, it was definitely proved that radium in its spontaneous decomposition produced helium in a perfectly regular way. Following this up, Sir William originated a series of other investigations, some of which are not yet completed, but which may be expected to result in further achievements of a high order. Sir William is the author of numerous publications and papers. Some of the most important of these are: "The Molecular Surface-Energy of Liquids." "Argon, a New Constituent of the Atmosphere" (in conjunction with Lord Rayleigh). "Helium, a Constituent of Certain Minerals." "Neon, Krypton, and Xenon." "The Transmutation of Radium into Helium" (with Mr. F. Soddy). "The Discovery of the Constituents of the Air." Three Text-books on Chemistry. Many academic honors and various orders of distinction have been conferred upon Sir William Ramsay in recognition of his brilliant dis- coveries in chemistry. Among the orders are those of the Commander of the Crown of Italy; Officier de la I~gion d'Honneur; Corresponding Mem- ber of the Institute of France; Hon. Member Royal Academies of Ireland, Berlin, Bohemia, Holland, Rome, St. Petersburg, etc. Sir William is a member of numerous learned and scientific societies, among them being the German Chemical Society; American Philosophical Society, Pharmaceutical Society; Philosophical Societies of Manchester, and Rotterdam. He was created ICC.B. in I9o2, and in I9o4 he was awarded the Nobel prize for his chemical researches. EMIL FISCHER, Ph.D., M.D., Ing.D.Se., F.R.S. EMIL FISCHER was born at Euskirchen, in Rhenish Prugsia, on October 9, t852. After studying chemistry at Bonn, he went to Strassburg, where he was graduated Ph.D. in I874. He then acted as assistant to Adolph yon Baeyer for eight years, after which he was appointed to the chair of IO8 ELLIOTT CRESSON MEDAL AWARDS. chemistry successively at Erlangen (i882) and Wfirzburg (I885). In x8~ he succeeded A. W. yon Hoffmann as professor of chemistry at Berlin. Dr. Fischer devoted himself entirely to organic chemistry, and in I875, the year following his engagement with von Baeyer, he published his dis- covery of the organic derivatives of a new compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, which he named hydrazine. He investigated both the aromatic and aliphatic derivatives, establishing their relation to the diazo compounds, and perceiving the readiness with which they entered into combination with other substances, he originated a large number of hitherto unknown com- pounds; including particularly the hydrozones, Which result from the inter- action of the aldehydes and ketones. His observations, published in i886, that such hydrozones, by treatment with hydrochloric acid and zinc chloride, yielded derivatives of indol, the pyrrol of the benzene series and the parent substance of irtdigo, were a confirmation of the views advanced by his master, von Baeyer. His further discovery was that phenyl hydrazine reacted with the sugars to form substances which he named osazones, and which, being highly crystalline and readily formed, served to identify such carbohydrates more definitely than had been previously possible. Turning his attention to the rosaniline dyestuffs, he published papers-in I878 to I879 which established that these dyestuffs were derivatives of triphenyl methane. His next research was with compounds related to uric acid. In I88x-2 he published papers establishing the formulae of uric acid, xanthine, caffeine, etc. In I894 he commenced the publication of that notable series of papers wherein these compounds were all referred to a common base, purin. Con- currently, he took up the investigation of the sugar group and became the recognized pioneer in this field of investigation. Dr. Fischer synthesized fructose, glucose, etc., and prepared several stereoisomerides, completing a brilliant experimental research and confirming Van't Hoff's theory of the asymmetric carbon atom. As an outcome of his study of the sugars, he attacked the problem presented by ferments and enzymes. In this connec- tion he discovered that the chemical constitution of a sugar is related to that of the ferment and enzyme which breaks it down. He entered on perhaps his greatest work when he commenced the study of the chemistry of the proteins. By the introduction of new methods, Dr. Fischer succeeded in breaking down the complex albuminoid substanees into amino acids and other nitrogenous compounds, the constitution of most of which have been solved. By bringing about the recombination of these units appropriately chosen, he prepared synthetic pepfides which approximate to the natural products. His publications include his "Untersuchungen fiber Aminos~iuren, Poly- peptide and Proteine;" "Untersuchungen in der Purin Gruppe;.... Unter- suchungen fiber Kohlenhydrate und Fermente." He was awarded the Nobel Prize for ehemistry in I9o2. .