Ernst David Bergmann (; 1903 – April 6, 1975) was an Israeli

nuclear scientist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

. He is often considered the father of the Israeli nuclear program.

Biography

Ernst David Bergmann was born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, His father, Judah Bergmann, was a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. He studied chemistry at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

under Wilhelm Schlenk. He was awarded his Ph.D. in 1927. Bergmann continued to work at the university and wrote the "Comprehensive Manual of Organic Chemistry" (''Ausführliches Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie'') together with Schlenk. The two-volume manual was published in 1932 and 1939, respectively; however, because Bergmann was Jewish his name to be removed from the title page of the second volume. Bergmann left for London in 1933 soon after the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s came to power, and began work with chemist and Zionist leader

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

. He turned down an offer of a position at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from Sir Robert Robinson, an event that Robinson recalled years later with anger. Bergmann left Europe less than a year later. He

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

on January 1, 1934, to work at the Daniel Sieff Research Institute in

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

. During World War II he worked on defense projects for the French, British, and Americans. A year after the war, Bergmann returned to Sieff Institute, which went on to become the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...

. Bergmann was married to the chemist Ottilie Blum.

Scientific career

During the next several years Bergmann, who had become famous through his work and connection with Weizmann, became close friends with

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

, and was appointed to several prominent government positions: chief of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

' science department in August 1948, science adviser to minister of defense on July 15, 1951, and director of research of the Division of Research and Infrastructure of the Ministry of Defense in early 1952.Cohen, Avner.
Chapter One, Israel and the Bomb
, ''The New York Times'', 1998. Retrieved February 2, 2007. In June 1952, he was appointed by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to be the first chairman of the

Israel Atomic Energy Commission The Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC; ) is the governmental authority responsible for the State of Israel's activities in the nuclear field. History The establishment of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission was announced on 13 June 1952 by Pri ...

(IAEC), where he played a crucial role in leading the Israel nuclear program with Ben-Gurion and Defense Minister

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

. That same year, he left the Weizmann Institute to become the chair of

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, and worked with graduate students for the next two years at Technion in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. Bergmann's work at the IAEC was shrouded in secrecy, and the agency itself was unknown to the public until he revealed its existence in 1954.Israel Nuclear Facilities: Overview of Organizations and Facilities
, Nuclear Threat Initiative, April 2004. Retrieved February 2, 2007. Bergmann offered to resign in June 1964 after Ben-Gurion had been replaced by

Levi Eshkol Levi Eshkol ( ;‎ 25 October 1895 – 26 February 1969), born Levi Yitzhak Shkolnik (), was the prime minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. A founder of the Israeli Labor Party, he served in numerous seni ...

, but was convinced to remain for two more years. He resigned as chair of the IAEC and the two defense ministry posts on April 1, 1966. During his lifetime Bergmann published more than 500

peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (:wiktionary:peer#Etymology 2, peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the ...

ed scientific papers in international journals, and made critical contributions to

fluorine Fluorine is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at Standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions as pale yellow Diatomic molecule, diatomic gas. Fluorine is extre ...

chemistry.Ernst David Bergmann, Nature, Volume 256, Issue 5518, pp. 606 (1975)

Awards and recognition

In 1956, Bergmann was awarded the Weizmann Prize For his work in the field of

and for promoting theoretical and practical science in Israel. In 1968, Bergmann was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

in life sciences.

References

External links

Weintraub, B. Bulletin of the Israel Chemical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergmann, Ernst David 1903 births 1975 deaths Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel Prize in life sciences recipients Israel Prize in life sciences recipients who were chemists Israeli chemists Israeli nuclear development Israel Defense Prize recipients Academic staff of Weizmann Institute of Science Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine Burials at Har HaMenuchot Weizmann Prize recipients Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah

Biography

Scientific career

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links