BUI...tLETIN FOR THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society [- . ----..-- .. --.-- -l NUMBER 19 1996 i C.K. INGOLD: MASTER AND MANDARIN OF PHYSICAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY BULLETIN ~FORTHE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY, NO. 19, 1996" ,.... CONTENTS Editor: Paul R. Jones Introduction 1 Department of Chemistry .' Uni'OfMichigan . by K. U. Ingold Ann ' r,M{ 48109-1055 C'. K. Ingold at University College London: Educator and Department Head 2 EDITORIAL BOARD: by Gerrylynn K. Roberts Herbert T. Pratt .~r 23 Colesbery Drive The Progress of Physical Organic Chemistry >~'~j~[~;Penn Acres as Mirrored in the Faraday Society ..~j;~fNew Castle DE 19720-3201 Discussions of 1923, 1937, and 1941 13 '«", l' « <, :,:: '~J~ :<;;:~:< 1 <: .~ by Derek a. Davenport Dr. Pe.ter Ramberg Department of Chemistry Teaching Chemistry Embedded in Ohio University . History: Reflections on C. K. Ingold's Athens,OH 45701 .Influence as Historian and Educator 19 . by Theodor Benfey CORRESPONDING EDITORS: Peter J. T. Morris , C. K. Ingold's Development of the The Science Museum, London, England . Concept of Mesomerism 25 Yasu Furukawa .by Martin D. Saltzman Tokyo'Denki University, Tokyo, Japan Physical Organic Terminology, /;<d<.<~)j <The BULLETIN FOR THE HISTORY OF .' .After Ingold 33 , r \ r ' CHEMISTRY (ISSN 10534385) is published by Joseph F. Bunnet . 'j:; by the History of Chemistry Division of the , ',r~Ameridii Chemical Society. All matters relat':' Ingold, Robinson, Winstein, ing to manuscriptS, book reviews, and letters Woodward, ~d I 43 . should be sent to Dr. Paul R. Jones, Editor. Sub­ '.' by Derek H. R. Batton .' scription chIDtges, changes of address, and claims for missing issues, as well as new memberships, The Beginnings of Physical Organic are handled by the SecJfreas. Chemistry in the United States 48 by John D. Roberts . HIST QFFICERS, 1996: . "Plus Commode et Plus Elegant": 'Chair, Jo~ph B. Lambert . th~ Paris School of Organic Reaction •.. ". ChaiT-elect, Harold Goldwhite SecJfreas:, VeraMainz '. Mechanisms in the 1920's and 1930's 58 Program Charr; Richard E; Rice by Mary Jo Nye . Councilors:'<MaryVirginia Orna, Ben B .. Base Hydrolysis of Cobalt (ill) Amines 66 "Chastain':: "'i ,f,:d:,·;··. ". by Fred Basolo Alternate Councilor::Albert S. Kirsch 1, :" : • <'f/:'~'~:'.<: Medium Effects of Micelles as Microreactors and the Scope of the Hughes-Ingold Solvent Theory 72 . This issue is devoted to papers presented at. by Clifford A~ Bunton a symposium entitled, "C~ K. Ingold: Mas~'I;lr ter and Mandarin of Physical Organic Chem~' ... A Personal History of the Benzidine istry,"held at the American Chemical Soci­ Rearra~gement 77 ety National Meeting in Chicago ,August 24 by Henry J. Shine and 25. 1993. in commemoration of the cen­ tennial of the birth of Professor Ingold.· The Book Notes 94 symposium was organized by Professor Derek A. Davenport, who has collaborated in the preparation of this issue. "Instructions for Authors:" see Issue 15116 II Bull. Hist. Chem.19 (1996) II INTRODUCTION K. U. Ingold, National Research Council of Canada The following collection of remembrances, anecdotes and may not have been "captured." The name Robert and comments was presented as a lecture at the 1993 Robinson was never mentioned in my hearing at home American Chemical Society Fall Meeting in Chicago in nor during my undergraduate years at University Col­ a Symposium entitled "Christopher K. Ingold: Master lege London. Indeed, the first time I ever heard this r----------------., and Mandarin name was when I was in Oxford doing my D. Phil. with of Physical Or­ Cyril Hinshelwood. If my father bore a grudge against ganic Chemis­ Robinson, he certainly was careful not to pass it on to try" and orga­ me by word or deed. nized by Pro­ My own memories of C. K. Ingold are, I suppose, fessor Derek the "normal" son/father memories: playing in the gar­ A. Davenport. den and on the beach, bird watching together, rock climb­ Many of the ing in North scientific Wales, the achievements Lake District, ofC. K. Ingold and Skye, and are recorded mountaineer­ herein by his ing with him friends, col­ in France. leagues, (occa­ (Yes, we did sional) adver­ climb several saries, and of the '----------------' modern histo- Charmonix C. K. Ingold rians. I am Aiguilles and deeply grateful to all of them. However, I have deliber­ Mont Blanc.) ately refrained from contributing anything to this vol­ Finally, there ume except for this introduction. It is true that I gave the was that clas­ opening lecture at this Ingold Centennial Symposium sic day when (1893-1993), and my title was a well-remembered quo­ C. K. Ingold tation of my father's, "Homolysis, even between con­ water-skied for the first time in '---____________--.l senting adults, is grounds for instant dismissal from this K. V.Ingold Department." Nevertheless, my own memories of my his life at age father have relatively little to do with his chemical re­ 72 on the river at the bottom of my garden. In my search. (On one occasion, he helped me enormously memory, my father was always young, active, and full with mine by providing a single, insightful comment­ of energy and enthusiasm. He always welcomed new not on radicals, of course-on a little problem I had in knowledge and new experiences. He is still missed. infrared spectroscopy.) Thus, a eulogy on C. K. Ingold's scientific attainments by his son would be completely ABOUT THE AUTHOR inappropriate, particularly since the main contributors Dr. K. U. Ingold is chemist at Steacie Institute for Mo­ to this volume "have done him proud." lecular Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, I think there is probably only one comment I made Ottawa, Canada. KIA OR6. during the symposium that may be historically relevant 2 Bull. Hist. Chem.19 (1996) 1/ /1 C. K. INGOLD AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: EDUCATOR AND DEPARTMENT HEAD Gerrylynn K. Roberts, The Open University The outstanding scientific work of Christopher Kelk young scientist) in 1923 and becoming a Fellow of the Ingold (1893-1970) was the focus of considerable dis­ Institute of Chemistry in that year. While at Imperial, cussion, celebration and evaluation during the year of Ingold worked with Jocelyn Field Thorpe (1872- the centenary of his birth. In addition to understanding 1940)(4); his research thrived and, in 1924, he was made his prolific and highly original scientific output as a an FRS at the very young age of thirty. pioneer in the application of physical methods to or­ In that same year, he became Professor of Organic ganic chemistry and, indeed, as a founder of physical Chemistry at the University of Leeds, a position which organic chemistry, it is also important to examine other he held for six years. In later years, Ingold would say aspects of Ingold's career, in particular his role in shap­ that Leeds was where(5): ing the institutional context in which he developed his I did my chief personal pedagogic research. finding work(1). From 1930 until his death, Ingold was attached out by trial and error how to present organic chemis­ to a major international centre, the Chemistry Depart­ try to students more rationally and less empirically ment of University College London. From 1937 to than was formally [sic] the custom - as a science rather 1961, as its Head and Director of Laboratories, con­ than an art. (We have done a lot more since on the tinuing the policies of his predecessor on chemical edu­ integration of the branches of chemistry, but that is cation and the organisation of research, he developed a another story.) very distinctive chemistry department. It is that 'other' story with which this paper is concerned. Ingold arrived at University College London to take up its second Chair of Chemistry with his reputation Early Years at VeL already firmly established. The outline of his educa­ tion and career is well known(2). He began his tertiary The UCL chair which Ingold took up had recently been education at the Hartley University College in retitled from 'Organic Chemistry' to simply 'Chemis­ Southampton where he took an external BSc of the try' . Apparently innocuous, the change is actually quite University of London in 1913. This was followed by a significant for understanding the outlook of the depart­ period at Imperial College London (Associate of the ment which had the famous physical chemist, Frederick Royal College of Science, 1914), three years working George Donnan (1870-1956) (6), as its head. From the under the War Office for the Cassell Cyanide Company, time of the reconstitution of the University of London and then three years as a research chemist for them in in the early years of the century, the UCL Department Glasgow. He qualified as an Associate of the Institute of Chemistry had had two chairs: one of General Chem­ of Chemistry in 1919 and also gained a University of istry and one of Organic Chemistry. It was known late London MSc in that year. Ingold was keen to resume in 1929 that the organic chair would fall vacant in the academic life and, in 1920, he returned to Imperial Col­ autumn of 1930 and Donnan took the opportunity to lege as a demonstrator and subsequently a lecturer(3), restructure, proposing that both Chairs be retitled sim­ gaining his DSc in 1921 as well as the first-ever Meldola ply 'Chair of Chemistry'(7). Because they were techni­ Medal of the Institute of Chemistry (for a promising cally chairs of the University of London, of which Uni- /t!iu. Hist. Chem.19 (1996) versity College London was one of the federated mem­ divisions of chemical science. The new professor ben;, such a change had to be approved by the Univer­ will be bound to do his utmost to further the progress sity Senate as well as the College authorities.