Eben Norton Horsford
Encyclopedia
Eben Norton Horsford was an American
scientist who is best known for his reformulation of baking powder
, his interest in Viking
settlements in America, and the monuments he built to Leif Erikson.
in 1818. He studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
, graduating as a civil engineer at age 19. He then worked for two years in the Geological Survey of New York, and shortly after he had reached his majority he became an instructor in mathematics and the sciences at the Albany Female Academy, where he taught for four years, after which he resumed his studies in Germany with Justus von Liebig
. On returning to the United States, Horsford was appointed the Rumford Professor and Lecturer on the Application of Science to the Useful Arts at Harvard in 1847. He taught chemistry and conducted research at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard for 16 years, and published articles in major scientific publications on such topics as phosphates, condensed milk, fermentation, and emergency rations.
Eben Horsford probably is best remembered today for reformulating baking powder
. Previously, baking powder had contained baking soda and cream of tartar. Horsford replaced the cream of tartar with the more reliable calcium biphosphate (also known as calcium acid phosphate and many other names). He did this a little earlier than August Oetker
. In 1854, Horsford, with partner George Wilson, formed the Rumford Chemical Works. They named it after the title of Horsford's position at Harvard. It was in that enterprise that Horsford created his commercially successful baking powder.
A generous supporter of higher education for women, Horsford became president of the board of visitors of Wellesley College, and donated money for books, scientific apparatus, and a pension fund to the college. He enjoyed remarkable success through his development of processes for manufacturing baking powder and condensed milk. In seeking patents for his inventions, Horsford was assisted by Charles Grafton Page
, a patent solicitor who had previously worked at the US Patent Office.
Horsford became interested in visits to North America by Vikings, such as Leif Ericson
, and was determined to prove that North America had been discovered not by a Mediterranean Catholic, but by an Aryan. He connected the Charles River Basin
to places described in the Norse saga
s, invented Old Norse
etymologies
for Algonquian
place-names like Naumkeag
, Namskaket
, and Amoskeag, and 'discovered' Viking archaeological remains. Horsford had a plaque documenting all this placed on Memorial Drive near Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. A few miles upstream, at the mouth of Stony Brook
, he had a tower built marking the supposed location of Norumbega
, a Viking fort and city, complete with its Althing
and America's first Christian bishop. He also commissioned the statue of Leif Ericson that still stands on Commonwealth Avenue
in Boston. The professor wrote a seemingly endless series of books, articles, and pamphlets about the Vikings' visits to Massachusetts. After his death, his daughter Cornelia took up the cause. Their work received little support from mainstream historians and archeologists at the time, and even less today.
In honor of Horsford's generous donations to Wellesley College, a building named Norumbega Hall was dedicated in 1886 and celebrated by a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scientist who is best known for his reformulation of baking powder
Baking powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and American-style biscuits. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in...
, his interest in Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
settlements in America, and the monuments he built to Leif Erikson.
Life and work
Eben Horsford was born in Livingston County, New YorkLivingston County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 64,328 people, 22,150 households, and 15,349 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 24,023 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
in 1818. He studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
, graduating as a civil engineer at age 19. He then worked for two years in the Geological Survey of New York, and shortly after he had reached his majority he became an instructor in mathematics and the sciences at the Albany Female Academy, where he taught for four years, after which he resumed his studies in Germany with Justus von Liebig
Justus von Liebig
Justus von Liebig was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and worked on the organization of organic chemistry. As a professor, he devised the modern laboratory-oriented teaching method, and for such innovations, he is regarded as one of the...
. On returning to the United States, Horsford was appointed the Rumford Professor and Lecturer on the Application of Science to the Useful Arts at Harvard in 1847. He taught chemistry and conducted research at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard for 16 years, and published articles in major scientific publications on such topics as phosphates, condensed milk, fermentation, and emergency rations.
Baking powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and American-style biscuits. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in...
. Previously, baking powder had contained baking soda and cream of tartar. Horsford replaced the cream of tartar with the more reliable calcium biphosphate (also known as calcium acid phosphate and many other names). He did this a little earlier than August Oetker
August Oetker
Dr. August Oetker was born in Obernkirchen, Germany and died in Bielefeld, Germany. He invented baking powder, although Alfred Bird of England is also credited with inventing baking powder in 1843...
. In 1854, Horsford, with partner George Wilson, formed the Rumford Chemical Works. They named it after the title of Horsford's position at Harvard. It was in that enterprise that Horsford created his commercially successful baking powder.
A generous supporter of higher education for women, Horsford became president of the board of visitors of Wellesley College, and donated money for books, scientific apparatus, and a pension fund to the college. He enjoyed remarkable success through his development of processes for manufacturing baking powder and condensed milk. In seeking patents for his inventions, Horsford was assisted by Charles Grafton Page
Charles Grafton Page
Charles Grafton Page was an American electrical experimenter and inventor, physician, patent examiner, patent advocate, and professor of chemistry....
, a patent solicitor who had previously worked at the US Patent Office.
Vikings
Horsford became interested in visits to North America by Vikings, such as Leif Ericson
Leif Ericson
Leif Ericson was a Norse explorer who is regarded as the first European to land in North America , nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus...
, and was determined to prove that North America had been discovered not by a Mediterranean Catholic, but by an Aryan. He connected the Charles River Basin
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
to places described in the Norse saga
Norse saga
The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
s, invented Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
etymologies
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
for Algonquian
Algonquin language
Algonquin is either a distinct Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by the Algonquin First Nations of Quebec and Ontario...
place-names like Naumkeag
Naumkeag
Naumkeag is a 44 room, shingle-style country house located at 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, USA in the Berkshires. It is now operated by The Trustees of Reservations as a nonprofit museum....
, Namskaket
Namskaket
Namskaket was a Nauset village on or near Namskaket Creek in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, near the modern border between Brewster and Orleans....
, and Amoskeag, and 'discovered' Viking archaeological remains. Horsford had a plaque documenting all this placed on Memorial Drive near Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. A few miles upstream, at the mouth of Stony Brook
Stony Brook (Waltham)
Stony Brook is a stream largely running through Weston, Massachusetts, then forming the Weston/Waltham boundary, and emptying into the Charles River across from the Waltham/Newton boundary. It has two tributaries, Cherry Brook and Hobbs Brook, and its watershed includes about half of Lincoln and...
, he had a tower built marking the supposed location of Norumbega
Norumbega
Norumbega was a legendary settlement in northeastern North America, inextricably connected with attempts to demonstrate Viking incursions in New England...
, a Viking fort and city, complete with its Althing
Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
and America's first Christian bishop. He also commissioned the statue of Leif Ericson that still stands on Commonwealth Avenue
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Commonwealth Avenue is a major street in the cities of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. It begins at the western edge of the Public Garden, and continues west through the neighborhoods of the Back Bay, Kenmore Square, Allston, Brighton and Chestnut Hill...
in Boston. The professor wrote a seemingly endless series of books, articles, and pamphlets about the Vikings' visits to Massachusetts. After his death, his daughter Cornelia took up the cause. Their work received little support from mainstream historians and archeologists at the time, and even less today.
In honor of Horsford's generous donations to Wellesley College, a building named Norumbega Hall was dedicated in 1886 and celebrated by a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
.
Selected works
- A Discussion of the Explosion of Burning Fluid which Took Place at Salem (1852)
- The Army Ration (1864)
- The Theory and Art of Bread-making: A New Process Without the Use of Ferment (1869)
- Report on Vienna Bread (1875)
- The Problem of the Northmen (1889)
- The Discovery of the Ancient City of Norumbega, Houghton, Mifflin, 1890.
- The Problem of the Northmen, Houghton, Mifflin 1890.
- The Defenses of Norumbega, Houghton, Mifflin, 1891.
- The Landfall of Leif Erikson, A.D. 1000, and the Site of his Houses in Vineland, Damrell and Upham, 1892.
External links
- Obituary – American Druggist, 1892, volume 22, no. 6, December issue, page 139
- Rumford Baking Powder – from the American Chemical Society
- Eben Horsford – from the American Chemical Society
- Rumford Baking Powder history
- Horsford's picture at the Dibner Library
- Papers of the Horsford Family – at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Picture of Horsford
