February
1
b. 1905
Emilio Segré codiscovered technetium (Tc, 43) with C. Perrier, 1937,
& astatine (At, 85) with D. R. Corson & K. R. MacKenzie, 1940;
demonstrated the antiproton, 1955, with others; Nobel Prize in Physics (1959)
with Owen Chamberlain for their
discovery of the antiproton.
2
b. 1802 Jean Baptiste Boussingault demonstrated that plants absorb
nitrogen from soil in form of nitrates and not from air as previously believed;
isolated and named sorbitol.
3
b. 1893 Lenora Neuffer Bilger, researcher in asymmetric nitrogen
compounds; Garvan Medal, 1953.
? Crompton & Knowles, Inc.
incorporated 1900.
4
b. Friedrich
Hermann Hund, Hund's rules
for electron configurations, the first of which predicts maximum multiplicity
of spin; molecular-orbital
theory (Hund-Mulliken approach).
5
b. 1840 John Boyd Dunlop developed pneumatic rubber tires.
b. 1914 Alan L. Hodgkin shared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1963) with J. C. Eccles and A. F.
Huxley for ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral
and central portions of the nerve cell membrane.
6
b. 1860
Nikolai D. Zelinsky, researcher on catalysis of disproportionation
reactions of hydrocarbons & bromination of fatty acids
(Heil-Volhard-Zelinsky reaction).
b. 1892
William P. Murphy, researcher on diabetes & diseases of the blood,
especially pernicious anemia; Nobel Prize in Medicine (1934) with George R.
Minot & George H. Whipple for their
discoveries concerning liver therapy in cases of anaemia. .
.
7
b. 1834 Dimitri I. Mendeleev discovered Periodic Law (Table) at
same time as Lothar Meyer, who published later.
b. 1850 John B. F. Herreshoff developed method for manufacturing
sulfuric acid.
b.
1905 Ulf von Euler, Nobel
Prize in Medicine or Physiology with J. Axelrod and B. Katz for discoveries concerning humoral transmittors in the
nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation.
? John A. R. Newlands published his first paper on his law of octaves showing that in order of increasing atomic weights, properties repeated with every 8th element, 1864.
8
b. 1777 Bernard Courtois discovered iodine (I, 53) in the
liquor from the lixiviation of kelp in 1811.
b. 1795 Friedlieb F. Runge discovered carbolic acid (phenol)
& aniline, 1834, in coal tar; investigated dry distillation &
composition of matter.
b. 1848 Francis R. Japp, researcher on benzil, benzoin,
& phenanthraquinone.
b. 1866 Moses Gomberg, researcher on triphenylmethyl
(first stable free radical) & tautomerism.
9
b. 1871 Edward C. C. Baly showed sugar & other organic
compounds formed from water, carbon dioxide, & ammonia under the influence
of light.
b. 1918 Lloyd N. Ferguson, chemical educator & author.
? Californium (Cf, 98) discovered by
ion exchange chromatography at the University of California, Berkeley, 1950.
10
b. 1846 Ira Remsen, founder of American Chemical
Journal; researcher in organic chemistry; cosynthesizer of saccharin.
b. 1897 John F. Enders proved poliovirus not neurotropic;
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1954) with T. H. Weller & F. C.
Robbins, for their discovery that poliovirus can grow in various types of
tissue.
? Birth of the polaragraph, 1922.
11
b. 1839 Josiah W. Gibbs, researcher in thermodynamics &
phase rule (Gibbs Phase Rule).
b. 1894 Izaac M. Kolthoff, researcher in analytical
chemistry; research in polarography, voltammetry. amperometric titrations,
& synthetic rubber chemistry.
b. 1847 Thomas A. Edison, inventor; incandescent lamp,
mimeograph.
? Alwin Mittasch & Christian Schneider filed application resulting in US patent 1,201,850, describing catalytic production of methanol from carbon monoxide & hydrogen, 1914.
12
b. 1785 Pierre L. DuLong discovered nitrogen trichloride,
1813; researcher on refractive indeces & specific heats of gases; Law of
constancy of atomic heat (DuLong & Petit), 1819; suggested that acids were
compounds of hydrogen, 1815; devised formula for heat value of fuels (DuLong
Formula).
b. 1826 Moritz Traube, researcher in semipermeable
membranes, sugars, respiration, fermentation, oxidation, protoplasm, &
muscle.
13
b. 1672 Etienne-Francois Geoffroy, published first table of chemical
affinities; early supporter of phlogiston theory.
b. 1858 Henry C. Pearson, rubber scientist & editor.
14
b.1878 Julius Nieuwland, "Father of Acetylene
Chemistry"; discoverer of neoprene.
b.1889 Evan J. Crane, editor, Chemical Abstracts,
1915‑1958.
b.1917 Herbert A. Hauptman developed methods for determination
of crystal structures; Nobel Prize (1985) with Jerome Karle for their outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods
for the determination of crystal structures.
? Dennis Searle, Dennis & E. M.
Skillings discovered deposits of borax & other soluble salts in San
Bernadino, California, 1873.
? Lawrencium (Lr, 103) produced at
University of California, Berkeley, 1961.
15
b. 1873 Hans K. A. S. von Euler‑Chelpin, researcher on enzymes &
fermentation; Nobel Prize (1929) with Arthur Harden for their investigations on the fermentation of sugar and fermentative
enzymes.
b. 1900 Charles Thomas received many awards including
Priestley medal.
16
? F. P. Bundy, H. T. Hall, H. M. Strong & R. H. O. Wentoff announced synthesis of diamonds at GE Research Laboratories, 1955.
17
b. 1838 Friedrich K. Beilstein published standard reference work
on organic chemistry, 1880‑83, updated ever since.
18
b.
1745 Alessandro G. A. A. Volta, invented
the voltaic
pile vota pila; observed
the bubbling of methane in swamps; development of gas lanterns electrically
ignited; unit of electric
potential, the volt,
is named in his honor.
b. 1799 Ferdinand Reich codiscovered indium (In, 49) with
Hieronymus T. Richter, 1863.
? Frederick Soddy coined the phrase
"isotopic elements" for elements that share the same place in the
periodic table 1913.
19
b. 1859 Svante A. Arrhenius devised a theory of electrolytic
dissociation; researcher in viscosity & reaction rates; Nobel Prize (1903)
in recognition of the extraordinary
services he has rendered to the advancement of chemistry by his electrolytic
theory of dissociation.
? One atom of mendelevium (Md, 101)
was produced by He bombardment of one billion atoms of 253Es in
1955.
20
b. 1836 Isaac Adams, Jr., pioneer inventor in nickel
plating.
b. 1937 Robert
Huber, researcher on the three-dimensional
structure of proteins involved in photosynthesis; Nobel Prize (1988) with
Johann Deisenhofer & Hartmut Michel for the
determination of the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction
centre.
b. 1901 Henry Eyring, developed transition-state theory
of chemical kinetics & constructed first potential energy surface for a
reaction. *
21
b. 1791 John Mercer invented process of treating cotton
with caustic soda producing mercerized cotton; discoverer of certain calico
dyes.
b. 1822 Oliver W. Gibbs, pioneer in inorganic &
analytical chemistry.
22
b. 1879 Johannes N. Brönsted offered acid‑base theory,
1923; researcher in kinetics, properties of ions, catalysis & nitramide.
? Frederich Wöhler in a letter to
Jöns J. Berzelius, announced the synthesis of urea from ammonium cyanate,
asking whether this is a true synthesis of organic from inorganic material,
1828.
? US releases $1 million worth of
uranium for peaceful atomic power, 1956.
23
b. 1884 Casimir Funk, developer of vitamins &
responsible for naming them.
b. 1924 Lejaren A. Hiller, Jr., researcher in cellulose chemistry
& co-inventor of computer music with Leonard M. Isaacson.
? Charles M. Hall is first to
produce electrolytic aluminum in his woodshed laboratory at his family?s home,
1886.
? Glenn T. Seaborg et al. chemically
identified plutonium (Pu, 94) at the University of California, Berkeley, 1941.
24
b. 1841 Karl Graebe synthesized organic compounds.
b. 1913 William S. Johnson devised new and efficient methods
to synthesize complex molecules including corticoid steroids.*
? Observation of first atom of
element 107 at GSI Laboratory, Darmstadt, Germany, 1981.
25
b. 1869 Phoebus A. T. Levene, researcher on the biochemistry of
proteins, hexosamines & stereochemistry.
b. 1880 Arthur B. Lamb, editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society,
1917-1949.
b. 1896 Ida E. Noddack discovered rhenium (Rh, 75), 1925,
with her husband, Walter K. F. Noddack & O. Berg.
26
b. 1866 Herbert H. Dow, founder of Dow Chemical Company.
b. 1903 Giulio Natta discovered and elucidated
stereospecific polymerization and stereoregular polymers; development of
commercially important polymerization processes; Nobel Prize (1963) with Karl
Ziegler for their discoveries in the field of the chemistry and
technology of high polymers. *
b. 1905 William J. Sparks, innovator & developer in
synthetic rubber.
b. 1946 Ahmed H. Zewail, received Nobel Prize (1999) for
pioneering investigation of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy.
27
b. 1783 John Gorham, author of early American text, Elements
of Chemical Science.
b. 1869 Alice Hamilton researched toxic substances in the
workplace; First women professor at Harvard Medical School.
28
b. 1814 Edmond Frémy prepared anhydrous hydrogen
fluoride; researcher on plumbates, stannates, ferrates, coring of flowers,
& saponification of fats.
b. 1814 Philip0 S. Hench, Nobel Prize in Medicine (1950) Edward Calvin Kendall & Tadeus Reichstein for their
discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and
biological effects
b. 1901 Linus C. Pauling, researcher on structure of
molecules, valency, & resonance; Nobel Prize (1954) for his research into the nature of the chemical bond
and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances;
Nobel Peace Prize (1962).