ACS President: William F. Hillebrand (1853-1925)

Served as President: 1906

His calling attention to the large quantities of potash that were lost during the processing of Portland Cement later led to the recovery of said potash which became a valuable commercial product

Much of the credit for establishment of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry goes to him

Education:

  • PhD, 1875, University of Heidelberg, Inorganic Chemistry

Career Highlights:

  • Partner in assaying firm, Leadville, CO, 1873 - 1880
  • Chemist, US Geological Survey, Colorado, 1880 – 1885, Washington DC, 1885 - 1892
  • Professor, general chemistry and physics, National College of Pharmacy, Washington DC (now part of George Washington University), 1892 -1910
  • Chief chemist, National Bureau of Standards, 1908 -1925

Notable Accomplishments:

His work on analysis of rocks showed accurate methods of determining minor constituents

Authority on mineralogy and precise analysis of mineralogical analysis

Major Awards and Honors:

Service to Science:

Did you know

. . . that he was referred to by his staff as “The Supreme Court of Analytical Chemistry”, due to his exacting standards?

. . . that in 1890 he isolated nitrogen from the gases released when uraninite is dissolved in sulfuric acid, and he narrowly missed discovering helium?