Week 49

Week 49: Dec. 3 – 9 (Archive)

• Born in 1886, Karl M. G. Siegbahn, researcher on X-ray spectroscopy; Nobel Prize in Physics (1924) "for his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy."
• Born in 1900, Richard Kuhn, researcher on structures and syntheses of vitamins and carotenoids; awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1938) "for his work on carotenoids and vitamins. Caused by the authorities of his country to decline the award but later received the diploma and the medal."
• Born in 1933, Paul Crutzen, researcher in chemistry of the atmosphere; Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1995) with Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowlan "for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone."

• Born in 1867, C. H. Herty, researcher on chemistry of natural resources.
• Born in 1908, Alfred D. Hershey, researcher in microbial genetics; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1969) with Max Delbruck and Salvador E. Luria "for their discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses."

• Born in 1896, Carl F. Cori, researcher in carbohydrate metabolism; discovered how glycogen is catalytically converted; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1947) with wife Gerty T. Cori "for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen" and with Bernado Houssay "for his discovery of the part played by the hormone of the anterior pituitary lobe in the metabolism of sugar."
• Born in 1901, Werner Heisenberg, researcher in quantum mechanics; developed the Heisenberg Principle (1927); Nobel Prize in Physics (1932) "for the creation of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen.

• Born in 1778, Joseph L. Gay-Lussac discovered law of expansion of gases with heat (1802); law of combining volumes of gases (1809); isolated boron; and researcher on fermentation, prussic acid, and composition of water.
• Born in 1835, Rudolf Fittig synthesized organic compounds (e.g,. lactones) with B.C.G. Tollens; synthesized toluene; discovered diphenyl phenanthrene (1872) and coumarone (1883).
• Born in 1836, Charles F. Chandler, researcher in sugar, petroleum, and illuminating gas industries; a founder of ACS.
• Born in 1863, Charles M. Hall discovered method of extracting aluminum electrolytically from bauxite, in his garage.
• Born in 1920, George Porter studied free radicals produced in gaseous photochemical reactions using flash-photolysis method that he developed; Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1967) with Manfred Eigen and Ronald G. W. Norrish "for their studies of extremely fast chemical reactions, effected by disturbing the equlibrium by means of very short pulses of energy."

• Born in 1810, Theodor Schwann named and investigated pepsin (1836); coined the word metabolism.
• Patent granted for the first thermosetting man-made plastic from a reaction of phenol with formaldehyde (1909).
• Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) incorporated (1926).

• Born in 1845, Thomas E. Thorpe was a researcher on atomic weights, viscosity of liquids, and chemical analyses.
• Born in 1878, Eugene C. Bingham was a researcher on plastic flow and viscosity.
• Born in 1947, Thomas R. Cech discovered role of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in cell; Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1989) with Sidney Altman "for their discovery of catalytic properties of RNA."
• Three atoms of element 111 created at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany (1994).

• Born in 1742, Karl W. Scheele discovered chlorine (Cl, 17) in 1774, phosphorus from bone ash, and the action of light on silver salts; synthesized organic acids.
• Born in 1748, Claude L. Berthollet analyzed ammonia; discovered bleaching action of chlorine and composition of prussic acid; showed that acids do not need to contain oxygen.
• Born in 1868, Fritz Haber synthesized ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen under high pressure (Haber process); Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1918) "for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements."
• Born in 1919, William N. Lipscomb, researcher on boranes; among first to describe three-dimensional structure of enzymes and proteins; Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1976) "for his studies on the structure of boranes illuminating problems of chemical bonding."