Frank C. Whitmore
Encyclopedia
Frank Clifford Whitmore nicknamed "Rocky", was a prominent chemist who submitted significant evidence for the existence of carbocation
mechanisms in organic chemistry.
He was born in 1887 in the town of North Attleborough, Massachusetts
.
, where his Ph.D. advisor was Charles Loring Jackson
. Several prominent contemporaries of Whitmore at Harvard were E.K. Bolton, Farrington Daniels
, Roger Adams
, James B. Sumner
and James Bryant Conant
. After graduating from Harvard he became a professor and taught at the University of Minnesota
, Northwestern University
, and The Pennsylvania State University.
At Penn State, Whitmore served as the Dean of the School of Chemistry and Physics from 1929–1947, succeeding his former Harvard colleague Gerald Wendt in the position. He hired several prominent scientists as faculty members, including Russell Marker
and Merrell Fenske.
s. The field of organic chemistry was struggling to explain how a compound with a double bonded carbon, an alkene
, reacts with a halide
compound. Whitmore worked on the findings of others and generalized the concept of molecules with a positively charged carbon atom, a carbocation
, as an intermediate step in the addition of a halogen
element.
Whitmore would go on to publish his findings in a paper titled "The Common Basis of Intramolecular Rearrangements." They were controversial at the time because many chemists, notably well known chemist Roger Adams
, a critic of Whitmore's, believed that a molecule like a carbocation would never be stable enough to exist. Nevertheless, Whitmore published these findings which today are accepted as the most logical explanation for the reactions in question.
In 1937, Whitmore published Organic Chemistry, the first advanced organic chemistry textbook to be written in English. Whitmore worked on a revision of the book for several years, though the work was interrupted by World War II
. The second edition of Organic Chemistry was published posthumously in 1951.
(ACS), holding several different offices in the organization throughout his life. In 1938, he served as president of ACS. During his presidency, he visited 72 of 104 local ACS sections. In 1937, Whitmore won the prized William H. Nichols
Medal, awarded by the New York section of ACS. In 1945, Whitmore was awarded the Willard Gibbs Medal (considered to be the highest chemical honor in America) by the Chicago section of ACS.
Whitmore rarely slept. It was not rare for him work twenty hours a day, and take one hour naps when he was tired.
Carbocation
A carbocation is an ion with a positively-charged carbon atom. The charged carbon atom in a carbocation is a "sextet", i.e. it has only six electrons in its outer valence shell instead of the eight valence electrons that ensures maximum stability . Therefore carbocations are often reactive,...
mechanisms in organic chemistry.
He was born in 1887 in the town of North Attleborough, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Academic career
Whitmore earned both his bachelor's degree (1911) and Ph.D. (1914) from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where his Ph.D. advisor was Charles Loring Jackson
Charles Loring Jackson
Charles Loring Jackson was the first significant organic chemist in the United States. He brought organic chemistry to the United States from Germany and educated a generation of American organic chemists.-Personal life:...
. Several prominent contemporaries of Whitmore at Harvard were E.K. Bolton, Farrington Daniels
Farrington Daniels
Farrington Daniels , was an American physical chemist, is considered one of the pioneers of the modern direct use of solar energy.- Biography :Daniels was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 8, 1889...
, Roger Adams
Roger Adams
Roger Adams was an American organic chemist. He is best-known for the eponymous Adams' catalyst, and his work did much to determine the composition of naturally occurring substances such as complex vegetable oils and plant alkaloids...
, James B. Sumner
James B. Sumner
James Batcheller Sumner was an American chemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946 with John Howard Northrop and Wendell Meredith Stanley.-Biography:...
and James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. As thePresident of Harvard University he reformed it as a research institution.-Biography :...
. After graduating from Harvard he became a professor and taught at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and The Pennsylvania State University.
At Penn State, Whitmore served as the Dean of the School of Chemistry and Physics from 1929–1947, succeeding his former Harvard colleague Gerald Wendt in the position. He hired several prominent scientists as faculty members, including Russell Marker
Russell Marker
Russell Earl Marker was an American chemist who invented the octane rating system when he was working at the Ethyl Corporation. Later in his career, he went on to found a steroid industry in Mexico when he successfully made synthetic progesterone from chemical constituents found in Mexican yams...
and Merrell Fenske.
Research and publications
While at the Pennsylvania State University Whitmore did his research on carbocationCarbocation
A carbocation is an ion with a positively-charged carbon atom. The charged carbon atom in a carbocation is a "sextet", i.e. it has only six electrons in its outer valence shell instead of the eight valence electrons that ensures maximum stability . Therefore carbocations are often reactive,...
s. The field of organic chemistry was struggling to explain how a compound with a double bonded carbon, an alkene
Alkene
In organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an unsaturated chemical compound containing at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond...
, reacts with a halide
Halide
A halide is a binary compound, of which one part is a halogen atom and the other part is an element or radical that is less electronegative than the halogen, to make a fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, or astatide compound. Many salts are halides...
compound. Whitmore worked on the findings of others and generalized the concept of molecules with a positively charged carbon atom, a carbocation
Carbocation
A carbocation is an ion with a positively-charged carbon atom. The charged carbon atom in a carbocation is a "sextet", i.e. it has only six electrons in its outer valence shell instead of the eight valence electrons that ensures maximum stability . Therefore carbocations are often reactive,...
, as an intermediate step in the addition of a halogen
Halogen
The halogens or halogen elements are a series of nonmetal elements from Group 17 IUPAC Style of the periodic table, comprising fluorine , chlorine , bromine , iodine , and astatine...
element.
Whitmore would go on to publish his findings in a paper titled "The Common Basis of Intramolecular Rearrangements." They were controversial at the time because many chemists, notably well known chemist Roger Adams
Roger Adams
Roger Adams was an American organic chemist. He is best-known for the eponymous Adams' catalyst, and his work did much to determine the composition of naturally occurring substances such as complex vegetable oils and plant alkaloids...
, a critic of Whitmore's, believed that a molecule like a carbocation would never be stable enough to exist. Nevertheless, Whitmore published these findings which today are accepted as the most logical explanation for the reactions in question.
In 1937, Whitmore published Organic Chemistry, the first advanced organic chemistry textbook to be written in English. Whitmore worked on a revision of the book for several years, though the work was interrupted by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The second edition of Organic Chemistry was published posthumously in 1951.
American Chemical Society
Whitmore was very active in the American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society 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 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
(ACS), holding several different offices in the organization throughout his life. In 1938, he served as president of ACS. During his presidency, he visited 72 of 104 local ACS sections. In 1937, Whitmore won the prized William H. Nichols
William H. Nichols
William Henry Nichols was a famous chemist and businessman who was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back a small sulfuric acid company he started in 1870. Nichols was one of the original founders of the...
Medal, awarded by the New York section of ACS. In 1945, Whitmore was awarded the Willard Gibbs Medal (considered to be the highest chemical honor in America) by the Chicago section of ACS.
Whitmore rarely slept. It was not rare for him work twenty hours a day, and take one hour naps when he was tired.