Creating Networks in Chemistry: The Founding and Early History of Chemical Societies in Europe: Volume 313 (Special Publications) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0854042792 ISBN 13: 9780854042791

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2008

Synopsis

The book focuses on this process and development of the European chemical societies before World War I and up to 1930.

About this title

About the Author

PhD, Associate Professor and Senior Research Worker at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. External faculty at the Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Prague Charles University Faculty of Science (1990-2005). President of the Czech National Committee for History of Science and Technology. Corresponding Fellow of the International Academy of History of Science. Vice-President of the IUHPS/DHS Commission Women in Science. Member of the Scientific Board of the European Society for History of Science. Delegate of the Czech Chemical Society in the EuCheMS working party on history of chemistry.

From the Back Cover

During the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, chemical societies were established all over Europe. This book focuses on this process and further development of the European chemical societies before World War I, and in exceptional cases up to 1930. Presenting unique historical material this title offers an insight into the social, intellectual and political circumstances in which the chemical societies were constituted and function. Details of relationships and connections to universities and chemical industries and international contacts are uncovered. The analysis of data explores how networks in chemistry and professional autonomy were constituted, and investigates the process of demarcation that inevitably takes place when a social institution of a scientific discipline is formed. The reader will find answers to the important question of what chemistry was and was not in the latter half of nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. This volume represents for the first time an international comparative analysis on the beginnings of chemical societies in Europe. This fascinating study, based on detailed historical research done by a group of renowned historians of chemistry from several countries, will serve the European chemical societies and provide a context for their complex histories and relationships. Ideal for those interested in the history of national societies and chemical history.

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Creating Networks in Chemistry

The Founding and Early History of Chemical Societies in Europe

By Anita Kildebæk Nielsen, Sona Strbanova

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Copyright © 2008 The Royal Society of Chemistry
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-85404-279-1

Contents

Chapter 1 AUSTRIA: Austrian Chemical Societies in the Last Decades of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1869–1914 W. Gerhard Pohl, 
Chapter 2 BELGIUM: From Industry to Academia: The Belgian Chemical Society, 1887–1914 Brigitte Van Tiggelen and Hendrik Deelstra, 
Chapter 2 CZECH LANDS: Chemical Socieies as Multifuctional Social Elements in the Czech Lands, 1866–1919 Sona Strbanova, 
Chapter 4 DENMARK: Creating a Danish Identity in Chemistry between Pharmacy and Engineering, 1879–1914 Anita Kildebæk Nielsen, 
Chapter 5 FRANCE: The Chemical Society of France in Its Formative Years, 1857–1914: Disciplinary Identity and the Struggle for Unity Ulrike Fell and Alan Rocke, 
Chapter 6 GERMANY: Discipline – Industry – Profession. German Chemical Organizations, 1867–1914 Jeffrey Allan Johnson, 
Chapter 7 GREAT BRITAIN: Chemical Societies and the Demarcation of the British Chemical Community, 1870–1914 Robin Mackie, 
Chapter 8 HUNGARY: Scientific Community of an Emancipating Nation: Chemical Societies in Hungary before 1914 Eva Katalin Vamos, 
Chapter 9 THE NETHERLANDS: Keeping the Ranks Closed: The Dutch Chemical Society, 1903–1914 Ernst Homburg, 
Chapter 10 NORWAY: A Group of Chemists in the Polytechnic Society in Christiania. The Norwegian Chemical Society, 1893–1916 Bjørn Pedersen, 
Chapter 11 POLAND: Chemists in a Divided Country. The Long-lasting Genesis and Early History of the Polish Chemical Society, 1767– 1923 Halina Lichocka, 
Chapter 12 PORTUGAL: Tackling a Complex Chemical Equation: The Portuguese Society of Chemistry, 1911–1926 Vanda Leitão, Ana Carneiro and Ana Simoes, 
Chapter 13 RUSSIA: The Formation of the Russian Chemical Society and Its History until 1914 Nathan M. Brooks, Masanori Kaji and Elena Zaitseva, 
Chapter 14 SWEDEN: The Chemical Society in Sweden: Eclecticism in Chemistry, 1883–1914 Anders Lundgren, 
Chapter 15 Creating Networks in Chemistry – Some Lessons Learned Anita Kildebæk Nielsen and Sona Strbanova, 
List of Contributors, 349, 
Notes on Contributors, 352, 
Index of Names, 358, 
Index of Institutions and Journals, 367, 
Subject Index, 390, 

CHAPTER 1

AUSTRIA: Austrian Chemical Societies in the Last Decades of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1869–1914

W. GERHARD POHL

1.1 Chemistry Development and Chemical Education in Austria

Chemical industries in the Habsburg monarchy in most cases were developed in connection with mining, brewing and metallurgical engineering. Many parts of Central Europe, which are today the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of Poland, Romania or Ukraine, were in the nineteenth century parts of the Austrian Empire. After 1848, and particularly in the Dual Monarchy after 1867, Hungary succeeded to develop independently.

Bohemia and Moravia (the Czech Lands) belonged economically and intellectually to the most developed part of the Empire, in which Czech- and German-speaking people lived. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the language of education was German in all institutions of higher learning but after 1869 a parallel polytechnic and in 1882 a parallel university were established in Prague, in which the language of education and research was Czech. As the German University in Prague and the German technical universities in Prague and Brno were closely integrated with all other Austrian institutions of higher learning (in Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, etc.) we consider the development of chemistry in these institutions, in which the language of instruction was German, as being part of the history of Austrian chemistry.

A considerable part of the rapidly developing chemical industry was owned or run by "Germans", often with their headquarters in Vienna, and therefore we also consider the development of this industry as part of the history of Austrian chemistry. Most factories were located in Bohemia and Lower Austria and produced a variety of acids, bases and salts, inorganic and organic dyes. In the first half of the nineteenth century the development of industry was supported by the state and polytechnic institutes were founded in Prague (1805), Graz (1811), Vienna (1815) and Brno (Brünn, 1849). Chemical education relevant for the industrial employment of graduates was established in these new institutes. Parallel with the increasing industrial production of chemicals mainly for the textile industry and ignition products like matches the number of students of chemistry doubled between the 1830s and the 1840s. Little theoretical research relevant for the development of chemistry was carried out before 1848 in Austria, neither in the universities nor in technical institutes. Therefore, many chemists tried to finish their studies with a doctoral thesis abroad, mainly in Germany.

In the second half of the nineteenth century chemical education was modernized under the influence of Justus von Liebig. Josef Redtenbacher in Prague and Vienna and Anton Schrötter in Graz and Vienna introduced in Austria Liebig's modern method of chemical education based on the laboratory work of all students. New chairs of chemistry were installed at universities and polytechnic institutes after the revolution of 1848. The organization of studies was reformed between 1849 and 1870. A third line of chemical education at a secondary level was established by the foundation of "Gewerbeschulen (technical secondary schools for chemistry).

Research at Austrian universities was mainly concerned with organic chemistry, particularly with substances isolated from plants. Austrian chemists published their results mainly in German journals before 1848. After the foundation of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1847, the Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlichen Wiener Akademie der Wissenschaften (Proceedings of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna) were started in 1848 and Austrian chemists could then publish in that journal. Starting in 1880 chemical papers of the Sitzungsberichte were reprinted in the Monatshefte für Chemie und verwandte Wissenschaften (Monthly issues for chemistry and related sciences, today called Chemical Monthly. The titles "Monatshefte/Chemical Monthly" will be used throughout this paper). This journal was well accepted in Austria and also abroad. Another journal, the Berichte der Österreichischen Gesellschaft zur Förderung der chemischen Industrie (Proceedings of the Austrian Society for the Advancement of Chemical Industry), was published in Prague from 1879 until 1898.

Chemical research advanced in the last years of the nineteenth century, the industry grew and the number of chemistry students and graduates increased considerably. To support these developments and to make continued education possible, chemical associations seemed desirable.

1.2 Establishment of Chemical Societies

1.2.1 Predecessors of the Chemical Society

In 1869 the Chemisch-Physikalische Gesellschaft (CPG, Chemical-Physical Society) was founded by the chemist Heinrich Hlasiwetz and the physicists Josef Loschmidt, Josef Petzval and Josef Stefan. Aims of the association were to further the development of chemistry and physics and to disseminate chemical and physical knowledge. This was to be achieved by:

• lectures on research, demonstration of experiments and discussion of theoretical methods;

• support of research and edition of a journal both depending on the financial possibilities of the association;

• contacts with other scientific associations at home and abroad.

Written reports of the early period of the CPG were lost, but the association still exists today.

Presidents were always elected for one year. Among them were top scientists of Austria such as the above-mentioned founders, the physicists Ernst Mach and Ludwig Boltzmann, the chemists Adolf Lieben, Josef Maria Eder and Rudolf Wegscheider, the physiologist Siegmund Exner and others.

The main activity of the CPG was organizing lectures. At the beginning scientists from Vienna were lecturing, but, later on, speakers from abroad were also invited, such as Anton Lampa from Prague, Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff from Berlin, Marian von Smoluchowski from Cracow and George de Hevesy from Budapest. These names show the scientific level of the CPG lectures.

The success and high standard of the CPG lectures probably evoked the foundation of the Wiener Verein zur Förderung des Physikalischen und Chemischen Unterrichts (Viennese Association for the Advancement of Physical and Chemical Teaching) in 1895. This association was concerned with supporting chemistry and physics teachers at secondary schools. The first president of this association was the physicist Viktor von Lang. He was also president in 1900 when the association had 317 members.

1.3 The Association of Austrian Chemists

1.3.1 Founding the Association

Both associations mentioned before did not meet the necessities of chemists working in the industry, therefore a third association was needed. Since 1892, regular monthly meetings of Viennese chemists had been organized. Their participants decided to establish an association which should have mainly dealt with the professional situation of chemists. In February 1897 the First Austrian Day of Chemists (Erster Österreichischer Chemikertag) was set up. At this meeting a provisional governing group for a chemists' association was established, which in the following month received the permission of the authorities to start the association.

In June 1897 the Verein Österreichischer Chemiker in Wien (VÖCH, Association of Austrian Chemists in Vienna) was founded. The constituent assembly took place in the festive hall of the Österreichischer Ingenieur- und Architektenverein (ÖIAV, Association of Austrian Engineers and Architects). The Technical College had granted the use of a lecture hall for future meetings of the VÖCH and a number of industrial enterprises had announced their financial support. So the starting conditions seemed to be favourable. In the beginning most of the members were Viennese chemists. Therefore the supplement in Wien (in Vienna) was added to the name. As the main centres of the chemical industry were in the provinces (Bohemia, Lower Austria, etc.) most chemists (about 60% of the members in the year 1900) were living outside Vienna. For this reason the supplement "in Vienna" was omitted from the name in 1901.

According to the concepts of the founders the VÖCH was to serve not only as a society in which information related to the development of chemistry as a science being discussed as it is in all scientific societies, but also as an organization representing college and university graduate chemists in their relationships with the state and their employers.

1.3.2 Management and Members

The first managing committee, consisting of eight persons, reflected the wish of the newly founded association to stay in contact with the authorities and to represent the chemists working in the industry: The president, Emerich Meißl, was director in the Imperial Ministry of Agriculture, the first vice-president, Professor Ernst Ludwig, was a member for the Upper Chamber of the Parliament and the first secretary, Karl Hazura, worked as chemist in the National Bank. The second vice-president, Josef Klaudy, worked in the Technologisches Gewerbemuseum (TGM, a higher technical school). Other members of the managing committee were directors or owners of industrial enterprises. It is remarkable that although the First Austrian Day of Chemists, where the foundation of the VÖCH originated, had mainly been attended by these technical chemists, the managing committee consisted of six persons with a Ph.D. and only two were graduates from the Technical College. It is unclear if the higher prestige of university graduates was the reason for giving them preference in the presidency. Additional members of the presidency besides the eight men of the managing committee were Hans Heger, editor of the Pharmazeutische Post (Pharmaceutical Post) and Zeitschrift für Nahrungsmittel-Untersuchung und Hygiene (Journal for Food Analysis and Hygiene), who initially printed two pages for VÖCH in his journal free of charge, and two managers of important companies (Apollo Soap Company and Siemens & Halske). Meißl remained as president until his death in 1905 with an interruption of one year. He was followed by Rudolf Wegscheider, one of the most prominent Austrian chemists at that time, a professor of physical chemistry who remained as president until 1929.

The association was supposed to represent the interests of persons with academic training in the field of chemistry. The total number of these persons in the Habsburg monarchy is not exactly known, but it may have been 1000 to 2000 when the VÖCH was founded.

About 2% of all employees of the Habsburg monarchy (about 3.3 million in 1902) were employed by the chemical industry (not including the food industry). The chemical companies amounted to about 1% of all industrial enterprises of the monarchy. Most of them were small (84% of the chemical firms employed between one and five persons). The numbers of chemical factories with more than 20 employees were 752 in 1901 and 967 in 1911. Table 1.1 shows those branches of the chemical industry that employed the highest numbers of people.

The association was mainly financed from membership fees (the same for ordinary and extraordinary members) and to a lesser extent by contributions from the industry. Members living in Vienna paid twice as much as members from the province. Chemical companies paid three times the fee of the Viennese members.

The membership fees for members in Vienna were 6 Guldens (fl) in 1897 and increased to 7 Guldens in 1899; for members outside Vienna they were 3 Guldens in 1897, which increased to 5 Guldens in 1899. Later the Austrian currency changed from Gulden to Kronen (abbreviation K); 1 fl = 2 K. Membership fees were 15 K for members from Vienna and 12 K for all other members in 1908. Members from Germany had to pay an additional 2 K and members from other foreign countries an additional 4 K for postage. Because the numbers of members decreased between 1902 and 1907, the membership fees for newly graduated chemists were reduced in 1908 to 8 K and the possibility was given to pay by four instalments of 2 K. This may have contributed to a considerable increase in the number of members during the following years.

There existed a special member category, known as the "Gründer" (founders). These were single persons or companies from the chemical branch contributing a higher membership fee (about 200 fl before 1900).

The total amount of membership fees was between 8500 and 14 400 Kronen (Austrian crowns) between 1901 and 1916. The sums are not well correlated with the number of members given in Figure 1.1. The amount decreased from 13 554 Kronen in 1910 to 13 381 Kronen in 1912, although the number of members increased from 937 in 1910 to 1013 in 1912. An additional income amounting to between 5 and 27% of the membership fees is documented in the ÖCHZ between 1901 and 1918 (without indicating the source). Between one third and two thirds of the membership fees were necessary to cover the costs of the ÖCHZ. Founders contributed about 5 to 20% of the total income of VÖCH. The contribution amounted to about 15% in 1912 and reached a peak of 21.3% in 1914. It decreased to about 7% in 1918.

Only chemists with sufficient academic training (at least six semesters' successful studies at the university or technical college) could become full members of VÖCH. Graduates from lower technical schools and students could become extraordinary members. Initially most members were graduates of the technical colleges, who had a somewhat lower rank compared to the graduates from the university. The rules of admission of full members, who had an academic degree, and "extraordinary" members, who had been trained in technical high schools, were not altered before 1900. No specific groups of chemical practitioners were explicitly prohibited from membership. Honorary membership has been awarded to outstanding chemists since 1903. Only two honorary memberships were awarded before the First World War: one in 1903 to the foremost chemist and inventor Carl Auer von Welsbach, and one in 1907 to Wilhelm Neuber, a Viennese factory owner, for his merits during the development of VÖCH.

Until 1916, the number of founders was between 14 and 17; in 1917 their number increased to 24 and in 1918 to 31. Until 1912, every year the numbers of ordinary and extraordinary members were compared in the minutes of the general assembly.

The professional fields of the VÖCH members are shown for the year 1901 in Table 1.2.

It follows from Table 1.2 that about 70% of the members were working in a private business. The extraordinary members amounted to about 10–18%. This means that mainly chemists with a higher degree were represented in the VÖCH, but the management of the association always also tried to support chemists with lower training (e.g. in secondary professional schools) with their specific requests.

In 1897 the association had about 200 members, in 1898 about 700 and in 1900 about 900. The number decreased to about 700 in 1907; since then we saw a sharp rise to about 1100 in 1914 and 1300 in 1918. In these years the numbers of extraordinary members (with no academic studies but only trained in technical high schools) were between 10 and 20% of the total number. In Figure 1.1, the numbers of members are given for the years 1898 to 1918.

(Continues...)

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Edition details

• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0854042792
• ISBN 13: 9780854042791
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 404
• Editor: Anita Kildebæk Nielsen