The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-08-13
CHEMICAL SCIENCE
Observation-Disclosures
ai--'' A ilfERIoaN NH.e0NTRfBUTI0NS
TO CHEALSTRKR BYPROFESSOR
SILLIAAN g sd 1e
concluded from last week.l

I
is "oxygen day" here. The session
opened at A. NJ, when Prof. ]. L. Smith
called the attention of the chemists and
all others present to the claims of the
Liebig Memorial Fund. The Professor
continued:
Though chemistry has its Tooth ami
versary appropriately celebrated on two
continents on this day, this science has
also an halfway point which claims in
no small measure our appreciation.
During the past 100 years there have
been not only many discoveries in chem
lstry, but there has been q vast develop
ment Of chemists-the soul and spirit of
the achievements which have already
been rehearsed here. Something in the
spirit in which we are in the habit of
celebrating our silver and golden we'd
dings, movement has been commenced
In Germany which might be said to
commemorate the silver epoch in the
history OF chemistry. That silver epoch
dates back just about fifty years. 1t was
the birth of organic chemistry. Al
though this circumstance is due to many
eminent scientists, yet one man more
than all others gave it a brilliant con-
splcuonsness and permanent develop
ment, and obtained those results which
have been of the best service to us in
our industrial and educational pursuits.
Justus Liebig, lately deceased in Munich,
it was who first made it known to the
world just about fifty years ago by his
grand discoveries in organic chemistry.
But it is not alone his wonderful
achievements in this line that have made
his name so dear to chemists, and so IA
miliar to the people of every land. He
was pre-eminently the patron of the
chemists of the past thirty or forty years
and the chemists of the present day, the
agEiculturists, and the manufacturers,
are more indebted to Liebig than to any
other man who has lived since that date.
His peculiar benefits to the world are
recognized by all-thereis hardly child
from California to Russia but knows who
Justus Liebig was-but to chemists he
was a great man. He first established a
laboratory which was open to the world,
and where all might receive instruction
from himself To his students he ever
lent his encouragement and aid, and
thus built up the chemists Of the present
day. He was lovable man in every
respect, and drew around him strong
friendship. 1t is true he had his mo
tons" Some of them, as is natural, of
course, were erroneous, but to have made
Liebig's errors would have made ten men
great, (Applause.) He himself said at
one time, "Show me man that has made
no error, and l will show you man that
has done nothing"
The great event of this session was an
essay by Professor Benjamin silliman on
american Contributions to Chemistry"
The great store of information which
Professor Silliman possesses on all sub
iects relating to the scientific history of
this country made this paper one Of alb
sorbing interest, .
Professor Silliman reminded his audi
ence that the history of modern chemis-
try. commencing with Priestley's immor-
tai discovery of oxygen or "dephlogisti-
Gated air" as he called it, on the LIST Of
August, IVA, is almost identical with the
History of our nation. Alluding to
/ Priestley's discovery, he said thdt prior
tothe discovery Of oxygen, and with il
the methods of reasoning and investiga-
ton peculiar to chemistry, there was nc
science of chemistry properly SO called
The alchemists and the Iatro chemists
had indeed accumulated great number
a of important data, and had observed
, MANY interesting and valuable facts; but
mems minds were then preoccupied by
an hypothesis, which to a certain extent
methodized facts, but completely misled
the Judgment and blinded the eyes o.
observers, when considering those chem
ical changes which accompany the phe
nomena of combustion. This was the
so-called Phlogistic Theory of Stahl, {
German physician and chemist (borr
1860, died 1874 of original power
Stahl's phlogiston was onlyanother namt
for heat. The fact that the loss of phlo
giston, which by this theory occurred
4. whenever body was burned, and wa
invariably accompanied by an inCreasl
a, of weight in the calx or body burned
. seems to have offered no serious diff
Guilty to those who accepted this theory
If pushed for an explanation of this un
deniable fact, they found ready refug
in the absurdity of assigning to thi
es mysterious element the quality of spec
4 ifc levity! Professor Silliman ennmera
" ted at length the important discoverie
of the past century, with short sketche
of the men who have earned a distinC
ton in the annals of chemical histor
during that period. The earliest scier
tifc institution of this country was tn
American Academy of Arts and Science
established at Boston in 1880. This wa
followed by the institution of a kindre
association at New Haven in 1879. L
10 l749 the American Philosophical ASS
citation was established at Philadelphi
} by Franklin, and in 1859 it was recol
nized by provincial charter. Tn
nd completes the brief list Of learned socit
ties, instituted in this country previot
to the close of the sixteenth centur
which have published anything relatir
. to chemistry, except, perhaps, the Ply
o. ical Society Of New York, which pul
lished single, volume which containe
.a only one paper on chemistry. of Il
|, public seminaries of learning, Princetc
II College instituted a chemical chair, III
der DR.. John McClain, in 1908. TIL
waslthe first chemical chair, pur q Simp
established in the United States. lie
lures on chemistry were given in II
no medical department at William and M
nd rvs under the professorship of the RE
James Madison as early as IVA, and
'Fe; i@ the University Of Pennsylvania In III
at Yale in 1903, at Cambridge in 1890,
Bowdoin in 1907, South Carolina in ISL
!. and in the same year at Dickinson CC
lege, Brown University, and at Dai
mouth in 1920. The early professorshi
of chsmistry in connection with mater
au medica we're noticed, commencing Wi
ler that of the University of Pennsylyan
MS in 1853. Under this head were notice
Ia the names Of DR.. John Winthrop, al
N | A nu..Aa. &c Inhta ~