Herbert Newby McCoy (June 29, 1870,

Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...

– May 7, 1945,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) was an American

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 ...

who taught at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

and was the vice-president of Lindsay Light & Chemical Company. He contributed numerous papers on

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

radioactivity Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

and

rare earths The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare earths, and sometimes the lanthanides or lanthanoids (although scandium and yttrium, which do not belong to this series, are usually included as rare earths), are a set of ...

. McCoy and his wife-to-be, chemist Ethel Mary Terry, wrote the three-volume set ''Introduction to General Chemistry'' (1919), ''Laboratory outline of General Chemistry'' (1920) and ''Teachers Manual and Notes'' (1920).

Background

McCoy was born in

, on June 29, 1870. His father died when he was young, leaving him to earn his own education. He earned his BS (1892) and MS (1893) from

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

where he worked with Winthrop E. Stone. He worked as a chemist for Swift and Company in Chicago and as a teacher at Fargo College in North Dakota before returning to university. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (1898), working with

Julius Stieglitz Julius Oscar Stieglitz (May 26, 1867 – January 10, 1937) was an American chemist of German Jewish origin. He was a teacher and organic chemist with a major interest in pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry. He is known for the Stieglitz rear ...

. His Ph.D. dissertation was “On the Hydrochlorides of Carbo-phenylimido Derivatives” (1898).

Career

McCoy was an assistant professor at the University of Utah (1899–1901), and taught at University of Chicago (1901–1917). He and his wife-to-be, Ethel Terry, wrote a three-volume introductory set of texts, an ''Introduction to General Chemistry'', consisting of an introductory text, a laboratory manual, and a teacher's guide. McCoy published numerous papers on physical chemistry, radioactivity and rare earths. He was the first person to demonstrate that the alpha-ray activity of a compound is proportional to its uranium content, quantitatively indicating that radioactivity is an atomic property. On this relationship is based a standard of measurement, the McCoy number. McCoy also proved that uranium is a parent of radium. McCoy did considerable work with

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

and

thorium Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...

, which at the time were believed to be

. McCoy's research contributed to the understanding of relationships among elements in the period table. In 1904, he independently demonstrated spontaneous transmutation of radium from uranium. As well, McCoy and William H. Ross clearly identified what came to be known as

isotopes Isotopes are distinct nuclear species (or ''nuclides'') of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), but ...

as chemically inseparable substances, a realization that enabled researchers to simplify models of the periodic table. Studying what would become known as the thorium group, McCoy and Ross verified

Otto Hahn Otto Hahn (; 8 March 1879 – 28 July 1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the field of radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry and discoverer of nuclear fission, the science behind nuclear reactors and ...

s prediction of "mesothorium", an isotope of radium. As early as 1911, McCoy introduced the term "synthetic metals". McCoy and William C. Moore attempted to use

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses Direct current, direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of c ...

to produce a metallic species from tetramethylammonium salts. Extending the work of

Thomas Johann Seebeck Thomas Johann Seebeck (; 9 April 1770 – 10 December 1831) was a German physicist who observed a relationship between heat and magnetism. Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted later called this phenomenon the '' thermoelectric effect''. Early ...

(1770-1831) to organic quaternary amines, instead of simple ammonium salts, they reported what was believed to be the first organic metal. Electrolysis produced of a crystalline solid with a metallic luster which displayed electrical conductivity similar to that of metals. It was believed to be a mercury amalgam with the general formula HgN(CH3)4 until 1986, when

Allen J. Bard Allen Joseph Bard (December 18, 1933 – February 11, 2024) was an American chemist. He was the Hackerman-Welch Regents Chair Professor and director of the Center for Electrochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. Bard developed innovati ...

proposed a more compelling explanation for the results. McCoy was President of the

Carnotite Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2( U O2)2( VO4)2·3 H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present. Occurrence Carnotite ...

Reduction Company in Colorado (1917-1920). The Carnotite Reduction Company processed ore containing

carnotite Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2( U O2)2( VO4)2·3 H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present. Occurrence Carnotite ...

and manufactured radium. McCoy became a vice-president of Lindsay Light & Chemical Company in Chicago in 1919. Lindsay Light manufactured mantles for gas lights using radioactive

. McCoy moved to Los Angeles in 1927. There he continued to study rare earths as a guest researcher in the laboratory of B. A. Stagner, and building his own private laboratory at home over his garage. McCoy died on May 7, 1945 in

Recognition

McCoy received the

Willard Gibbs Award The Willard Gibbs Award, presented by thChicago Sectionof the American Chemical Society, was established in 1910 by William A. Converse (1862–1940), a former Chairman and Secretary of the Chicago Section of the society and named for Professor Jo ...

in 1937. At that time, he was described by

Marie 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 List of female ...

as the "foremost American authority on radioactivity". The Herbert Newby McCoy Award at Purdue University was established in 1964 by Mrs. Ethel M. Terry McCoy in honor of her husband.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maccoy, Herbert Newby 1870 births 1945 deaths People from Richmond, Indiana American chemists Purdue University alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Utah faculty Rare earth scientists