Arthur Michael
Encyclopedia
Arthur Michael was an American
organic chemist who is best known for the Michael reaction
.
in 1853, the son of John and Clara Michael, well-off real-estate investor. He was educated in that same city, learning chemistry both from a local teacher and in his own homebuilt laboratory. An illness thwarted Michael's plans to attend Harvard, and instead in 1871 he traveled to Europe with his parents and decided to study in Germany.
He studied in Hofmann's
chemical laboratory in Berlin at the University of Berlin, he studied with Robert Bunsen
at Heidelberg University and after 2 years again in Berlin with Hoffmann. He then studied for another year with Wurtz at the École de Médecine in Paris and with Dmitri Mendeleev
in St. Petersburg.
Returning to the United States in 1880, Michael became Professor of Chemistry at Tufts College
where he taught from 1882-1889. At Tufts College, Michael met and married, in 1888, one of his own science students, Helen Cecilia De Silver Abbott
. Following several years in England, during which the couple worked in a self-constructed laboratory on the Isle of Wight
, they returned to the United States in 1894 where Arthur Michael again taught at Tufts, leaving in 1907 as an emeritus professor.
Michael's retirement from academia lasted but five years. In 1912 he became a Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University, and there he stayed until a second retirement, in 1936. From a 21st century vantage point, it is interesting that Michael never received a university degree, yet worked with some of the foremost chemists of his day, obtained chemistry professorships, and achieved fame among his peers.
Arthur Michael died in Orlando, Florida on February 8, 1942. His wife died in 1904. They had no children.
, also called the Michael addition. As originally defined by Michael, the reaction involves the combination of an enolate ion of a ketone or aldehyde to an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound at the β carbon.
Michael was also well known in his day for incorporating thermodynamic concepts into organic chemistry, particularly for his use of entropy arguments. Perhaps his most enduring contribution to science was his central role in introducing the European model of graduate education into the United States.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
organic chemist who is best known for the Michael reaction
Michael reaction
The Michael reaction or Michael addition is the nucleophilic addition of a carbanion or another nucleophile to an alpha, beta unsaturated carbonyl compound. It belongs to the larger class of conjugate additions. This is one of the most useful methods for the mild formation of C-C bonds...
.
Life
Arthur Michael was born into a wealthy family in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in 1853, the son of John and Clara Michael, well-off real-estate investor. He was educated in that same city, learning chemistry both from a local teacher and in his own homebuilt laboratory. An illness thwarted Michael's plans to attend Harvard, and instead in 1871 he traveled to Europe with his parents and decided to study in Germany.
He studied in Hofmann's
August Wilhelm von Hofmann
August Wilhelm von Hofmann was a German chemist.-Biography:Hofmann was born at Gießen, Grand Duchy of Hesse. Not intending originally to devote himself to physical science, he first took up the study of law and philology at Göttingen. But he then turned to chemistry, and studied under Justus von...
chemical laboratory in Berlin at the University of Berlin, he studied with Robert Bunsen
Robert Bunsen
Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium and rubidium with Gustav Kirchhoff. Bunsen developed several gas-analytical methods, was a pioneer in photochemistry, and did early work in the field of organoarsenic...
at Heidelberg University and after 2 years again in Berlin with Hoffmann. He then studied for another year with Wurtz at the École de Médecine in Paris and with Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev , was a Russian chemist and inventor. He is credited as being the creator of the first version of the periodic table of elements...
in St. Petersburg.
Returning to the United States in 1880, Michael became Professor of Chemistry at Tufts College
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
where he taught from 1882-1889. At Tufts College, Michael met and married, in 1888, one of his own science students, Helen Cecilia De Silver Abbott
Helen Abbott Michael
Helen Cecilia De Silver Abbott Michael, M.D. was an American scientist who was among the first to "in a systematic way study the relation of chemical composition to species of plants and to plant growth." Michael theorized that the chemical composition of plants over the course of their...
. Following several years in England, during which the couple worked in a self-constructed laboratory on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, they returned to the United States in 1894 where Arthur Michael again taught at Tufts, leaving in 1907 as an emeritus professor.
Michael's retirement from academia lasted but five years. In 1912 he became a Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University, and there he stayed until a second retirement, in 1936. From a 21st century vantage point, it is interesting that Michael never received a university degree, yet worked with some of the foremost chemists of his day, obtained chemistry professorships, and achieved fame among his peers.
Arthur Michael died in Orlando, Florida on February 8, 1942. His wife died in 1904. They had no children.
Work
Arthur Michael is remembered today primarily for the Michael reactionMichael reaction
The Michael reaction or Michael addition is the nucleophilic addition of a carbanion or another nucleophile to an alpha, beta unsaturated carbonyl compound. It belongs to the larger class of conjugate additions. This is one of the most useful methods for the mild formation of C-C bonds...
, also called the Michael addition. As originally defined by Michael, the reaction involves the combination of an enolate ion of a ketone or aldehyde to an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound at the β carbon.
Michael was also well known in his day for incorporating thermodynamic concepts into organic chemistry, particularly for his use of entropy arguments. Perhaps his most enduring contribution to science was his central role in introducing the European model of graduate education into the United States.