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The Karlsruhe Congress was an international meeting of chemists held in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants ...
, Germany from 3 to 5 September 1860. It was the first international conference of chemistry worldwide.


The meeting

The Karlsruhe Congress was called so that European chemists could discuss matters of chemical nomenclature, notation, and atomic weights. The organization, invitation, and sponsorship of the conference were handled by
August Kekulé Friedrich August Kekulé, later Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz ( , ; 7 September 1829 – 13 July 1896), was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekulé was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially ...
, Adolphe Wurtz, and Karl Weltzien. As an example of the problems facing the delegates, Kekulé's ''Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie'' gave nineteen different formulas used by chemists for
acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main compon ...
, as shown in the figure on this page. An understanding was reached on the time and place of the meeting, and printing of a circular addressed to European chemists listed below, which explained the objectives and goals of an international congress was agreed upon. The circular concluded: "...with the aim of avoiding any unfortunate omissions, the undersigned request that the individuals to whom this circular will be sent please communicate it to their scientist friends who are duly authorized to attend the planned conference." The circular was sent to: # Austria ##Innsbruck:
Heinrich Hlasiwetz Heinrich Hlasiwetz (7 April 1825 – 7 October 1875) was an Austrian chemist born in Reichenberg, Bohemia. Son of a pharmacist, he studied at the University of Jena, where his instructors included Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780-1849), ...
. ##Vienna: Anton Schrötter von Kristelli; Leopold von Pebal. # Belgium ##Brussels: Jean Servais Stas. ##Ghent: Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz. # France ##Paris:
Anselme Payen Anselme Payen (; 6 January 1795 – 12 May 1871) was a French chemist known for discovering the enzyme diastase, and the carbohydrate cellulose. Biography Payen was born in Paris. He began studying science with his father when he was a 13-ye ...
; Antoine Bussy;
Antoine Jérôme Balard Antoine Jérôme Balard (30 September 1802 – 30 April 1876) was a French chemist and one of the discoverers of bromine. Career Born at Montpellier, France, on 30 September 1802, he started as an apothecary, but taking up teaching he acted as ...
;
Auguste André Thomas Cahours August André Thomas Cahours (1813–1891) was a French chemist and scientist whose contribution to organic chemistry was one of the greatest in history. He discovered, among other things, the processes of synthesis of several chemical molecules, i ...
; Charles Adolphe Wurtz;
Edmond Frémy Edmond Frémy (; 28 February 1814 – 3 February 1894) was a French chemist. He is perhaps best known today for Frémy's salt, a strong oxidizing agent which he discovered in 1845. Fremy's salt is a long-lived free radical that finds use as a ...
; Eugéne-Melchior Péligot;
Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville (11 March 18181 July 1881) was a French chemist. He was born in the island of St Thomas in the Danish West Indies, where his father was French consul. Together with his elder brother Charles he was educate ...
;
Henri Victor Regnault Henri Victor Regnault (21 July 1810 – 19 January 1878) was a French chemist and physicist best known for his careful measurements of the thermal properties of gases. He was an early thermodynamicist and was mentor to William Thomson in ...
;
Jean-Baptiste Boussingault Jean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault (2 February 1801 – 11 May 1887) was a French chemist who made significant contributions to agricultural science, petroleum science and metallurgy. Biography Jean-Baptiste Boussingault – an agric ...
;
Jean-Baptiste Dumas Jean Baptiste André Dumas (14 July 180010 April 1884) was a French chemist, best known for his works on organic analysis and synthesis, as well as the determination of atomic weights (relative atomic masses) and molecular weights by measuring v ...
;
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named af ...
;
Théophile-Jules Pelouze Théophile-Jules Pelouze (also known as Jules Pelouze, Théophile Pelouze, Theo Pelouze, or T. J. Pelouze, ; 26 February 180731 May 1867) was a French chemist. Life He was born at Valognes, and died in Paris. His father, Edmond Pelouze, was a ...
. ##Rennes: Faustino Malaguti. # Germany ##Berlin:
Eilhard Mitscherlich Eilhard Mitscherlich (; 7 January 179428 August 1863) was a German chemist, who is perhaps best remembered today for his discovery of the phenomenon of crystallographic isomorphism in 1819. Early life and work Mitscherlich was born at Neuende ...
. ##Freiburg im Breisgau: Lambert Henrich von Babo. ##Geissen: Heinrich Will;
Hermann Franz Moritz Kopp Hermann Franz Moritz Kopp (30 October 1817 – 20 February 1892), German chemist, was born at Hanau, where his father, Johann Heinrich Kopp (1777–1858), a physician, was professor of chemistry, physics and natural history at the local lyceu ...
. ##Göttingen:
Friedrich Wöhler Friedrich Wöhler () FRS(For) Hon FRSE (31 July 180023 September 1882) was a German chemist known for his work in inorganic chemistry, being the first to isolate the chemical elements beryllium and yttrium in pure metallic form. He was the ...
. ##Heidelberg:
Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bu ...
. ##Karlsruhe: Karl Weltzien. ##Leipzig: Otto Linné Erdmann. ##Munich:
Justus von Liebig Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at ...
. ##Stuttgart:
Hermann von Fehling Hermann von Fehling (9 June 1812 – 1 July 1885) was a German chemist, famous as the developer of Fehling's solution used for estimation of sugar. Biography Hermann von Fehling was born in Lübeck. With the intention of taking up pharmacy he ...
. ##Tübingen:
Adolph Strecker Adolph Strecker (October 21, 1822 – November 7, 1871) was a German chemist who is remembered primarily for his work with amino acids. Life and work Strecker was born in Darmstadt, the son of Friedrich Ludwig Strecker, an archivist working fo ...
. # Italy ##Genova:
Stanislao Cannizzaro Stanislao Cannizzaro ( , also , ; 13 July 1826 – 10 May 1910) was an Italian chemist. He is famous for the Cannizzaro reaction and for his influential role in the atomic-weight deliberations of the Karlsruhe Congress in 1860. Biograph ...
. ##Turim:
Raffaele Piria Raffaele Piria (Scilla 20 August 1814 – Turin 18 July 1865) was an Italian chemist from Scilla, who lived in Palmi. He converted the substance Salicin into a sugar and a second component, which on oxidation becomes salicylic acid, a major com ...
. # Russia ##Kasan: Nikolay Nikolayevich Beketov. ##St. Petersburg: Alexander Nikolayevich Engelhardt; Carl Julius Fritzsche; Nikolai Nikolaevich Sokolov; Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin. # Switzerland ##Zurich: Georg Andreas Karl Staedeler. ##Geneva:
Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac (24 April 1817 – 15 April 1894) was a Swiss chemist whose work with atomic weights suggested the possibility of isotopes and the packing fraction of nuclei. His study of the rare earth elements led to ...
. # United Kingdom ##London: Alexander William Williamson;
August Wilhelm von Hofmann August Wilhelm von Hofmann (8 April 18185 May 1892) was a German chemist who made considerable contributions to organic chemistry. His research on aniline helped lay the basis of the aniline-dye industry, and his research on coal tar laid the ...
; Sir Edward Frankland; William Odling. ##Manchester:
Henry Enfield Roscoe Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe (7 January 1833 – 18 December 1915) was a British chemist. He is particularly noted for early work on vanadium, photochemical studies, and his assistance in creating Oxo (food), in its earlier liquid form. Life a ...
. ##Oxford:
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet FRS (5 February 181724 November 1880) was an English chemist. Biography Brodie was the son of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne (Née Sellon), and was educated at Harrow ...
. The Karlsruhe meeting ended with no firm agreement on the vexing problem of atomic and molecular weights. However, on the meeting's last day reprints of
Stanislao Cannizzaro Stanislao Cannizzaro ( , also , ; 13 July 1826 – 10 May 1910) was an Italian chemist. He is famous for the Cannizzaro reaction and for his influential role in the atomic-weight deliberations of the Karlsruhe Congress in 1860. Biograph ...
's 1858 paper on atomic weights, in which he utilized earlier work by
Amedeo Avogadro Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto (, also , ; 9 August 17769 July 1856) was an Italian scientist, most noted for his contribution to molecular theory now known as Avogadro's law, which states that equal vol ...
, were distributed. Cannizzaro's efforts exerted a heavy and, in some cases, an almost immediate influence on the delegates.
Lothar Meyer Julius Lothar Meyer (19 August 1830 – 11 April 1895) was a German chemist. He was one of the pioneers in developing the earliest versions of the periodic table of the chemical elements. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (his chief rival) and ...
later wrote that on reading Cannizzaro's paper, "The scales seemed to fall from my eyes." An important long-term result of the Karlsruhe Congress was the adoption of the now-familiar atomic weights. Prior to the Karlsruhe meeting, and going back to Dalton's work in 1803, several systems of atomic weights were in use. In one case, a value of 1 was adopted as the weight of hydrogen (the base unit), with 6 for carbon and 8 for oxygen. As long as there were uncertainties over atomic weights then the compositions of many compounds remained in doubt. Following the Karlsruhe meeting, values of about 1 for hydrogen, 12 for carbon, 16 for oxygen, and so forth were adopted. This was based on a recognition that certain elements, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, were composed of
diatomic molecule Diatomic molecules () are molecules composed of only two atoms, of the same or different chemical elements. If a diatomic molecule consists of two atoms of the same element, such as hydrogen () or oxygen (), then it is said to be homonuclear. O ...
s and not individual atoms. Ihde has argued that the Karlsruhe meeting was the first international meeting of chemists and that it led to the eventual founding of the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...
(IUPAC).


Attendance

The number of people who wanted to participate was considerable, and on 3 September 1860, 140 chemists met together in the meeting room of the second Chamber of State, which was made available by the
Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden Frederick I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig; 9 September 1826 – 28 September 1907) was the Grand Duke of Baden from 1858 to 1907. Life Frederick was born in Karlsruhe, Baden, on 9 September 1826. He was the third son of Leopold, G ...
. According to Wurtz, the printed list of members, supplemented by handwritten additions, contains 126 names listed below. # Belgium: #*''Brussels'': J. Stas; #*''Ghent'': Donny, A. Kekulé # Germany: #*''Berlin'': Ad. Baeyer, G. Quinke; #*''Bonn'': H. Landolt; #*''Breslau'':
Lothar Meyer Julius Lothar Meyer (19 August 1830 – 11 April 1895) was a German chemist. He was one of the pioneers in developing the earliest versions of the periodic table of the chemical elements. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (his chief rival) and ...
; #*''Kassel'': Guckelberger,; #*Klausthal: Streng; #*''Darmstadt''
E. Winkler
#*''Erlangen'': v. Gorup-Besanez; #*''Freiburg i. B.'': v. Babo, Schneyder (Woldemar Alexander Adolph von Schneider, 1843–1914); #*''Giessen'': Boeckmann (Emil Boeckmann), H. Kopp, H. Will; #*''Göttingen'': F. Beilstein; #*''Halle a. S.'': W. Heintz; #*''Hanover'': Heeren; #*''Heidelberg'': Becker, O. Braun, R. Bunsen, L. Carius, E. Erlenmeyer
O. Mendius
Schiel (Jacob Heinrich Wilhelm Schiel, 1813-1889); #*''Jena'':
Lehmann Lehmann is a German surname. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 75.3% of all bearers of the surname ''Lehmann'' were residents of Germany, 6.6% of the United States, 6.3% of Switzerland, 3.2% of France, 1.7% of Australia and 1.3% of Poland. In ...
, H. Ludwig; #*''Karlsruhe'': A. Klemm, R. Muller, J. Nessler, Petersen, K. Seubert (Karl Seubert, 1815–1868), Weltzien; #*''Leipzig'': O. L. Erdmann, Hirzel, Knop, Kuhn; #*''Mannheim'': Gundelach (Carl Gundelach)
Schroeder
#*''Marburg a. L.'': R. Schmidt, Zwenger; #*''Munich'': Geiger (Friedrich Geiger, 1833-1889); #*''Nuremberg'': v. Bibra; #*''Offenbach'': Grimm; #*''Rappenau'': Finck; #*''Schönberg'': R. Hoffmann (Gustav Reinhold Hoffmann, 1831-1919); #*''Speyer'': Keller (Franz Keller), Mühlhaüser (Albert Mühlhaüser); #*''Stuttgart'': v. Fehling, W. Hallwachs; #*''Tübingen'': Finckh (Karl Finckh, von Winterbach,), A. Naumann, A. Strecker; #*''Wiesbaden'': Kasselmann, R. Fresenius, C. Neubauer; #*''Würzburg'': Scherer, V. Schwarzenbach (Valentin Schwarzenbach, 1830-1890) # United Kingdom: #*''Dublin'': Apjohn A.; #*''Edinburgh'': Al. Crum Brown, Wanklyn, F. Guthrie; #*''Glasgow'': Anderson; #*''London'': B. F. Duppa (Baldwin Francis Duppa, 1828–1873), G. C. Foster,
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...
, Müller, Noad, A. Normandy, Odling; #*''Manchester'': Roscoe; #*''Oxford'': Daubeny, G. Griffeth (G. Griffith), F. Schickendantz; #*''Woolwich'':
Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...
# France: #*''Montpellier'': A. Béchamp, A. Gautier, C. G. Reischauer; #*''Mülhousen i. E.'': Th. Schneider; #*''Nancy'': J. Nicklès; #*''Paris'': Boussingault, J-B. Dumas, C. Friedel, L. Grandeau, Le Canu (Louis René Le Canu, 1800–1871), Persoz, Alf. Riche (Jean Baptiste Leopold Alfred Riche, 1829-1908), P. Thénard, Verdét, C.-A. Wurtz; #*''Strasbourg i. E.'': Jacquemin (Eugène Théodore Jacquemin, 1828–1909), Oppermann (Charles Oppermann, 1805-1872), F. Schlagdenhaussen (Frédéric Charles Schlagdenhauffen, 1830–1907), P. Schützenberger; #*''Tann'': Ch. Kestner, Scheurer-Kestner # Italy: #*''Genoa'': Cannizzaro; #*''Pavia'': Pavesi (Angelo Pavesi) # Mexico: Posselt (Louis Posselt, 1817-1880, brother of Christian Posselt) # Austria: #*''Innsbruck'': Hlasiwetz; #*''Lemberg'': Pebal; #*''Pesth'': Th. Wertheim; #*''Vienna'': V. v. Lang, A. Lieben, Folwarezny (Carl Folwarezny), F. Schneider # Portugal: #*''Coimbra'': Mide Carvalho (Mathias de Carvalho e Vasconcellos, 1832-1910) #Russia: #*''Kharkov:'' Sawitsch; #*''St. Petersburg:''
Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...
, Mendelyeev, L. Schischkoff, Zinin; #*''Warsaw:'' T. Lesinski,
Jakub Natanson Jakub Natanson (20 August 1832 – 14 September 1884) was a Polish chemist and banker, one of the discoverers of Fuchsine. He wrote the first textbook on organic chemistry in the Polish language. Life He was born 20 August 1832 in Warsaw as ...
. #Sweden: #*''Harpenden:'' J. H. Gilbert; #*''Lund:''
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constit ...
, C. W. Blomstrand; #*''Stockholm:'' Bahr. #Switzerland: #*''Bern:'' C. Brunner, H. Schiff; #*''Geneva:'' C. Marignac; #*''Lausanne:'' Bischoff (Henri Bischoff, 1813–1889) #*''Reichenau bei Chur:'' A. v. Planta; #*''Zurich:'' J. Wislicenus. #Spain: #*''Madrid:'' R. de Luna .


References


Further reading

* (subscription required) * * : (Note the incorrect spelling of Weltzien's name.) * : (Originally published in 1964.) * * : (Note the incorrect month given for the conference.) * {{cite book , title=The Question of the Atom: From the Karlsruhe Congress to the First Solvay Conference, 1860–1911 , last=Nye , first=Mary Jo , publisher=Springer , year=1984 , isbn=978-0-938228-07-3 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/questionofatomfr0000unse


External links


''When Science Went International'', Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 88, 3.9.2010



Cannizzaro's 1858 paper

''A History of Chemistry'' by F. J. Moore (1918) New York: McGraw-Hill
History of chemistry Academic conferences Karlsruhe Chemical nomenclature Chemistry conferences 1860 in science 1860 in the Grand Duchy of Baden 1860 conferences Science events in Germany September 1860 events