Henry Gilman
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Henry Gilman (May 9, 1893 – November 7, 1986) was an American
organic chemist 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 ...
known as the father of
organometallic chemistry Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and so ...
. He discovered the
Gilman reagent A Gilman reagent is a diorganocopper compound with the formula Li uR2 where R is an alkyl or aryl. They are colorless solids. Use in organic chemistry These reagents are useful because, unlike related Grignard reagents and organolithium reage ...
, which bears his name.


Early life and education

Henry Gilman was born in
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, as the son of a tailor. He was the third of eight children. Gilman graduated from a Boston high school and later attended
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where he graduated ''
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in 1915. During his final year as an undergraduate at Harvard, Gilman researched with
Roger Adams Roger Adams (January 2, 1889 – July 6, 1971) was an American organic chemist who developed the eponymous Adams' catalyst, and helped determine the composition of natural substances such as complex vegetable oils and plant alkaloids. He isolat ...
. During this time, the two worked on the synthesis of substituted phenyl esters of oxalic acids. Gilman worked hard on his research describing it as 'a sheer delight' and often worked until midnight 'without any compulsion-just for the joy of it' and claimed this was an important step toward his interest in research. After undergraduate work Gilman was invited to stay for graduate work with the head of the Harvard department of chemistry, E.P. Kohler. Based on his work, he received a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
degree in 1917 (a year late) and a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 1918. While attending graduate school, Gilman had an opportunity to travel in Europe as a recipient of the Sheldon Fellowship. He spent time at both the Polytechnicum in Zurich and 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 ...
in England. During his time in Europe, Gilman met
Madame Curie Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (; ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie ( ; ), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first wo ...
at the Sorbonne, the historic University of Paris. While staying in Paris, Gilman met
Victor Grignard Francois Auguste Victor Grignard (6 May 1871 – 13 December 1935) was a French chemist who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the eponymously named Grignard reagent and Grignard reaction, both of which are important in the formation of ...
and was intrigued by the advances in organic chemistry in France made possible by
Grignard reagent Grignard reagents or Grignard compounds are chemical compounds with the general formula , where X is a halogen and R is an organic group, normally an alkyl or aryl. Two typical examples are methylmagnesium chloride and phenylmagnesium bromi ...
s. Once he was able to research independently, Gilman was determined to explore the chemistry of these organometallic reagents.


Career

For a short time after receiving his PhD, Henry Gilman worked an associate professor at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
after being invited by his former instructor Roger Adams. In 1919, Gilman moved on to become an assistant professor in charge 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
Iowa State College Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...
of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
). At the age of 30, Gilman was given the title of full professor. While at Iowa State College, Gilman met Ruth V. Shaw, a student of his first-year organic chemistry class, and the two were married in 1929. Gilman switched to the Episcopal church from the Jewish faith upon marriage. Gilman had high expectations for his graduate students, and it often took them more than twice as long as the norm to earn their degrees. They were expected to work in the research lab well into the night and on weekends. Gilman was known for frequently visiting the lab during the day and questioning each student as to what they had accomplished since his last visit. He would also go on business trips and not inform his secretary or students on when he would come back in an effort to discourage skipping. Gilman had another common practice for his graduate students. He would not assign a research project for his graduate students, but he would push students to produce a series of preparations. Students would write short publications that would spark ideas about additional experiments to perform, drawing all the material together to form a central thesis. During his career, Gilman consulted for many companies such as
Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national ad ...
and
DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
, although he continued as a professor at
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
, as it came to be known. At the usual retirement age of 70, at that time, Gilman chose not to retire from Iowa State University and remained active in research until 1975 when he was 82 years old. World War II brought new opportunities for Gilman to do research for the government. He took part in the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
, which was the code name for the government's work on the atom bomb. Gilman concentrated on preparing volatile uranium derivatives, mainly dealing with
alkoxide In chemistry, an alkoxide is the conjugate base of an alcohol and therefore consists of an organic group bonded to a negatively charged oxygen atom. They are written as , where R is the organyl substituent. Alkoxides are strong bases and, whe ...
s, and the syntheses of species with potential anti-malarial activities.


Later years (1947–1986)

In 1947, due to a combination of
glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...
and detachment of a retina Henry Gilman became blind in one eye and lost most of his vision in the other. He was forced to rely on his wife and students to act as his eyes, to read and write for him. His wife was almost always at his side to guide him in unfamiliar places and inform him of the people around him. Remarkably, he continued much of his work and never let his loss of sight hinder his skills. It could be argued that the majority of Gilman's work was done after 1947. In 1973, the current chemistry building at Iowa State University was renamed Henry Gilman Hall. Gilman had heart problems late in his life and was fitted with a pace-maker at the age of 88. He died in
Ames, IA Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 census, Ames had a population of 66,427, making it the stat ...
at the age of 93 and was followed by his wife less than two months later and she was followed by their daughter Jane six months later. They are survived by a son and four grandchildren.


Works

During his lifetime, Gilman completed 1020 papers, 584 of which were published after he became blind in 1947. In 1936,
the Journal of Organic Chemistry ''The Journal of Organic Chemistry'', colloquially known as ''JOC'', is a peer-reviewed scientific journal for original contributions of fundamental research in all branches of theory and practice in organic and bioorganic chemistry. It is publ ...
was created by Gilman with the help of M.S. Kharasch. In 1938, he published a two-volume textbook titled ''Organic Chemistry: An Advanced Treatise'', the first major organic chemistry textbook, with each chapter being contributed by leading leaders in the U.S. Subsequent additions were published in 1943 and another two editions in 1953.
Gilman reagent A Gilman reagent is a diorganocopper compound with the formula Li uR2 where R is an alkyl or aryl. They are colorless solids. Use in organic chemistry These reagents are useful because, unlike related Grignard reagents and organolithium reage ...
s are named after him.


Honors and awards

*Elected to
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
, 1945 *Iowa Award and Midwest Award of
American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
, 1951 *Honorary Fellow of the British Chemical Society, 1961 *First American Chemical Society Frederic Stanley Kipping Award in Organosilicon Chemistry, 1962 *Distinguished Fellowship Awards, Iowa Academy of Sciences, 1975 *
Priestley Medal The Priestley Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and is awarded for distinguished service in the field of chemistry. Established in 1922, the award is named after Joseph Priestley, one of the discoverers of ...
of the American Chemical Society, 1977 *Iowa Governor's Science Medal, 1982 Along with his numerous state, national, and international awards and honors, Gilman has had many tributes in his memory at
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
. In 1962, Gilman became a distinguished professor at ISU. The chemistry building on Iowa State University's campus was renamed Gilman Hall in 1974. That same year, the annual series of Gilman Lectures was established. In his memory, the Gilman Graduate Fellowship Fund was established in 1987.


References


Further reading


National Academy of Sciences Biography of Henry Gilman

''Iowa State University Visions'', Fall 2006
* John McMurry, ''Organic Chemistry'', 6th edition (Brooks/Cole-Thomson, 2004, ) * Eaborn, C. (1990). Biographical Memoirs: Gilman. Biographical Memoirs of Professor Henry Gilman . England.


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilman, Henry 1893 births 1986 deaths Iowa State University faculty American organic chemists 20th-century American chemists Jewish American scientists American blind people Foreign members of the Royal Society Harvard University alumni 20th-century American Jews American scientists with disabilities Blind scholars and academics