Ira Remsen

Ira Remsen ( born February 10, 1846 in New York; † March 4, 1927 in Carmel, California ) was an American chemist. Remsen discovered in 1879 along with Constantin Fahl Berg ( 1850-1910 ), the artificial sweetener saccharin. He was the second president of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Life

A native of New York Remsen studied first at the request of his parents Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he graduated in 1867 as Doctor of Medicine ( MD). He then traveled to Germany to pursue his true goals, a study of chemistry. In 1870 he reached here at the University of Göttingen another doctorate. At the University of Tübingen sat Remsen continued his studies, where he was from 1870 to 1872 assistant of Theoretical Chemistry.

After his return in 1875 in the United States, he accepted a professorship at Williams College in Massachusetts and here wrote his most important work The principles of theoretical chemistry. Daniel Coit Gilman was aware of him among other things by this publication and invited him to establish the chemical faculty at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 1879 he founded the American Chemical Journal here, whose editor, he was for 35 years and which is now one of the most important chemical journals. In the same year he discovered - more by accident - the artificial sweetener saccharin. He had worked in the laboratory with Steinkohleteerverbindungen, and had, after he had his hands are not thoroughly cleaned with a meal, noticed the sweet taste on his fingers. Together with his partner Constantin Fahl mountain he went after this track and published in 1880 the newly found substance. In later years there was a falling out with Fahl Berg, who had claimed the patent rights on saccharin for themselves.

In 1901 Remsen was appointed the president of Johns Hopkins University. This office he held position until 1912. He spent his retirement in Carmel, California. After his death the new chemistry building at Johns Hopkins University was named after him as Remsen Hall, his ashes was there behind a plaque their final resting place.

His research focused on the inorganic and organic chemistry, most famously he made in Germany by a number as strange as excellent textbooks: The principles of theoretical chemistry (. 3rd Edition, Philad 1887); Introduction to the study of the compounds of carbon, or Organic chemistry (5th edition, Bost, 1890. ); An introduction to the study of chemistry (most recently New York, 1889); The elements of chemistry ( last das. 1889); Inorganic chemistry advanced course ( 2nd ed das. 1890). All these works have also been published in German (Tübingen ), some in other languages.

According to him, the Remsen Award from the ACS is named.