Karlsruhe Congress
Encyclopedia
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Germany from 3 to 5 September, 1860. It was the first international conference of chemistry worldwide.
The meeting
The Karlsruhe Congress was called so that European chemists could discuss matters of chemical nomenclature, notation, and atomic weights. The organization, invitation, and sponsorship of the conference were handled by August KekuléFriedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekule was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially in theoretical chemistry...
, Adolphe Wurtz
Charles-Adolphe Wurtz
Adolphe Wurtz was an Alsatian French chemist. He is best remembered for his decades-long advocacy for the atomic theory and for ideas about the structures of chemical compounds, against the skeptical opinions of chemists such as Marcellin Berthelot and Etienne Henri Sainte-Claire Deville...
, and Karl Weltzien
Karl Weltzien
Karl Weltzien , was a German scientist who was Professor of Chemistry at the Technische Hochschule of Karlsruhe from 1848 to 1869. Starting about 1840, Weltzien constructed new laboratories for chemistry research and teaching at Karlsruhe...
. As an example of the problems facing the delegates, Kekulé's Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie gave nineteen different formulas used by chemists for acetic acid
Acetic acid
Acetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CO2H . It is a colourless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar , and has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell...
, as shown in the figure on this page.
The Karlsruhe meeting ended with no firm agreement on the vexing problem of atomic and molecular weights. However, on the meeting's last day reprints of Stanislao Cannizzaro
Stanislao Cannizzaro
Stanislao Cannizzaro, FRS was an Italian chemist. He is remembered today largely for the Cannizzaro reaction and for his influential role in the atomic-weight deliberations of the Karlsruhe Congress in 1860.-Biography:...
's 1858 paper on atomic weights, in which he utilized earlier work by Amedeo Avogadro
Amedeo Avogadro
Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto was an Italian savant. He is most noted for his contributions to molecular theory, including what is known as Avogadro's law...
, were distributed. Cannizzaro's efforts exerted a heavy and, in some cases, an almost immediate influence on the delegates. Lothar Meyer later wrote that on reading Cannizzaro's paper, "The scales seemed to fall from my eyes."
An important long-term result of the Karlsruhe Congress was the adoption of the now-familiar atomic weights. Prior to the Karlsruhe meeting, and going back to Dalton's
John Dalton
John Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
work in 1803, several systems of atomic weights were in use. In one case, a value of 1 was adopted as the weight of hydrogen (the base unit), with 6 for carbon and 8 for oxygen. As long as there were uncertainties over atomic weights then the compositions of many compounds remained in doubt. Following the Karlsruhe meeting, values of about 1 for hydrogen, 12 for carbon, 16 for oxygen, and so forth were adopted. This was based on a recognition that certain elements, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, were composed of diatomic molecules and not individual atoms.
Ihde has argued that the Karlsruhe meeting was the first international meeting of chemists and that it led to the eventual founding of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations that represents chemists in individual countries. It is a member of the International Council for Science . The international headquarters of IUPAC is located in Zürich,...
.
Attendance
According to Wurtz's list, the congress was attended by the scientists listed below.- Belgium. Brussels: StasJean StasJean Servais Stas was a Belgian analytical chemist.- Life and work :Stas was born in Leuven and trained initially as a physician. He later switched to chemistry and worked at the École Polytechnique in Paris under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Dumas...
; Ghent: Donny, A. KekuléFriedrich August Kekulé von StradonitzFriedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekule was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially in theoretical chemistry... - Germany. Berlin: Ad. BaeyerAdolf von BaeyerJohann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer was a German chemist who synthesized indigo, and was the 1905 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Born in Berlin, he initially studied mathematics and physics at Berlin University before moving to Heidelberg to study chemistry with Robert Bunsen...
, G. QuinkeGeorg Hermann QuinckeGeorg Quincke|thumbGeorg Hermann Quincke was a German physicist.Born at Frankfurt , Quincke was the son of prominent physician Geheimer Medicinal-Rath Hermann Quincke and the older brother of physician Heinrich Quincke.Quincke received his Ph. D. in 1858 at Berlin, having previously studied also...
; Bonn: H. LandoltHans Heinrich LandoltHans Heinrich Landolt was the Swiss chemist who discovered iodine clock reaction. He is also one of the founders of Landolt-Börnstein database.-Biography:...
; Breslau: Lothar Meyer; Kassel: GuckelbergerCarl Gustav GuckelbergerCarl Gustav Guckelberger was a German chemist.-Life:Guckelsberger worked in a pharmacy in Stuttgart, but started studying chemistry with Hermann von Fehling, also in Stuttgart, for two semesters. With the recommendation of Fehling, Guckelsberger joined the laboratory of Justus von Liebig at the...
,; Klausthal: Streng; Darmstadt: E. Winkler; Erlangen: v. Gorup-BesanezEugen Freiherr von Gorup-BesanezEugen Freiherr von Gorup-Besanez was an Austrian-German chemist.-Biography:He was educated in Graz and at Vienna, Padua, Munich, and Göttingen. He was appointed professor of chemistry at Erlangen in 1849...
; Freiburg i. B.: v. BaboLambert Heinrich von BaboLambert Heinrich von Babo was a German chemist.-Life:Babo was the son of the agronomist Lambert Joseph von Babo and his first wife Karoline Ehrmann. The oenologist August Wilhelm von Babo was his half-brother...
, Schneyder; Giessen: Boeckmann, H. KoppHermann Franz Moritz KoppHermann Franz Moritz Kopp , German chemist, was born at Hanau, where his father, Johann Heinrich Kopp , a physician, was professor of chemistry, physics and natural history at the local lyceum....
, H. Will; Göttingen: F. BeilsteinFriedrich Konrad BeilsteinFriedrich Konrad Beilstein , Russian name "Бейльштейн, Фёдор Фёдорович", was a chemist and founder of the famous Handbuch der organischen Chemie . The first edition of this work, published in 1881, covered 1,500 compounds in 2,200 pages...
; Halle a. S.: W. HeintzWilhelm Heinrich HeintzWilhelm Heinrich Heintz was a German structural chemist who earned his PhD at Berlin in 1844 under Heinrich Rose.He was one of six founding members of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft and the only chemist....
; Hanover: HeerenFriedrich HeerenFriedrich Heeren was a German chemist.-References:...
; Heidelberg: Becker, O. Braun, R. BunsenRobert BunsenRobert 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...
, L. CariusGeorg Ludwig CariusGeorg Ludwig Carius was a German chemist born in Barbis. He studied under Friedrich Wöhler and was assistant to Robert Bunsen for 6 years. He was Director of the Marburger Chemical Institute of Philipps University of Marburg from 1865...
, E. ErlenmeyerRichard August Carl Emil ErlenmeyerRichard August Carl Emil Erlenmeyer or Emil Erlenmeyer was a German chemist known for formulating the Erlenmeyer Ruleand designing a type of chemical flask.-Biography:...
, O. Mendius, Schiel; Jena: Lehmann, H. Ludwig; Karlsruhe: A. Klemm, R. Muller, J. NesslerJulius NeßlerJulius Neßler was a German chemist.He discovered the Nessler's reagent.- Biography :Neßler studied at the University of Freiburg from 1853 to 1856, when he attained his PhD. After his Ph.D...
, Petersen, K. Seubert, Weltzien; Leipzig: O. L. ErdmannOtto Linné ErdmannOtto Linné Erdmann was a German chemist. He was the son of Karl Gottfried Erdmann, the physician who introduced vaccination into Saxony, was born at Dresden on the 11th of April 1804...
, Hirzel, Knop, Kuhn; Mannheim: Gundelach, Schroeder; Marburg a. L.: R. SchmidtRudolf SchmittRudolf Schmitt was a German chemist who together with Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe discovered the Kolbe-Schmitt reaction.-Biography:...
, Zwenger; Munich: Geiger; Nuremberg: v. BibraErnst von BibraDr. Ernst Freiherr von Bibra was a German Naturalist and author...
; Offenbach: Grimm; Rappenau: Finck; Schönberg: R. Hoffmann; Speyer: Keller, Mühlhaüser; Stuttgart: v. FehlingHermann von FehlingHermann von Fehling was a German chemist, famous as the developer of Fehling's solution used for estimation of sugar.-Biography:...
, W. Hallwachs; Tübingen: Finckh, A. Naumann, A. StreckerAdolph StreckerAdolph Strecker was a German chemist who is remembered primarily for his work with amino acids.- Life and work :...
; Wiesbaden: Kasselmann, R. FreseniusCarl Remigius FreseniusCarl Remigius Fresenius , was a German chemist, known for his studies in analytical chemistry.- Biography :Fresenius was born on 28 December 1818, in Frankfurt, Germany...
, C. Neubauer; Würzburg: Scherer, v. Schwarzenbach - United Kingdom. Dublin: Apjohn A.James ApjohnJames Apjohn was the Irish chemist known for the discovery of new minerals.-Life:Apjohn studied at Trinity College, Dublin medicine and finished with his M.B. in 1822...
; Edinburgh: Al. Crum BrownAlexander Crum BrownAlexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS was a Scottish organic chemist.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh, the half-brother of the physician and essayist John Brown, he studied for five years at the Royal High School, succeeded by one year at Mill Hill School in London...
, WanklynJames Alfred WanklynJames Alfred Wanklyn was a nineteenth-century English chemist who is remember today chiefly for his "ammonia method" of determining water quality and for his fierce arguments with those, such as Edward Frankland, who opposed him over matters related to water analysis. Wanklyn was born in...
, F. Guthrie; Glasgow: Anderson; London: B. F. Duppa, G. C. Foster, GladstoneJohn Hall GladstoneJohn Hall Gladstone FRS was a British chemist. He served as President of the Physical Society between 1874 and 1876 and during 1877–1879 was President of the Chemical Society...
, Müller, Noad, A. Normandy, OdlingWilliam OdlingWilliam Odling, FRS was an English chemist who contributed to the development of the periodic table....
; Manchester: RoscoeHenry Enfield RoscoeSir Henry Enfield Roscoe, FRS was an English chemist. He is particularly noted for early work on vanadium and for photochemical studies.- Life and work :...
; Oxford: Daubeny, G. Griffeth, F. Schickendantz; Woolwich: AbelFrederick Augustus Abel-External links:... - France. Montpellier: A. BéchampAntoine BéchampPierre Jacques Antoine Béchamp was a French biologist. He studied silkworm parasites, and was the first to synthesise Atoxyl.-Biography:...
, A. Gautier, C. G. Reichauer; Mülhousen i. E.: Th. Schneider; Nancy: J. Nicklès; Paris: BoussingaultJean Baptiste BoussingaultJean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault was a French chemist who made significant contributions to agricultural science, petroleum science and metallurgy.-Biography:...
, DumasJean-Baptiste DumasJean Baptiste André Dumas was a French chemist, best known for his works on organic analysis and synthesis, as well as the determination of atomic weights and molecular weights by measuring vapor densities...
, C. FriedelCharles FriedelCharles Friedel was a French chemist and mineralogist. A native of Strasbourg, France, he was a student of Louis Pasteur at the Sorbonne...
, L. Grandeau, Le Canu, Persoz, Alf. Riche, P. Thénard, Verdét, C.-A. WurtzCharles-Adolphe WurtzAdolphe Wurtz was an Alsatian French chemist. He is best remembered for his decades-long advocacy for the atomic theory and for ideas about the structures of chemical compounds, against the skeptical opinions of chemists such as Marcellin Berthelot and Etienne Henri Sainte-Claire Deville...
; Strasbourg i. E.: Jacquemin, Oppermann, F. Schlagdenhaussen, P. SchützenbergerPaul SchützenbergerPaul Schützenberger , French chemist, was born at Strasbourg, where his father Georges Frédéric Schützenberger was professor of law, and his uncle Charles Schützenberger professor of chemical medicine....
; Tann: Ch. Kestner, Scheurer-Kestner - Italy. Genoa: Cannizzaro; Pavia: Pavesi.
- Mexico. Posselt (Louis Posselt (1817–1880), brother of Christian Posselt)
- Austria. Innsbruck: HlasiwetzHeinrich HlasiwetzHeinrich Hlasiwetz was an Austrian chemist.- Bibliography :* Johannes Uray, Organische Chemie in chemischer Forschung und Lehre an österreichischen Universitäten zwischen 1840 und 1870. In: Bericht über den 25. Österreichischen Historikertag in St. Pölten 2008. St. Pölten 2010, S...
; Lemberg: PebalLeopold von PebalLeopold von Pebal was an Austrian chemist.Pebal was a professor at the University of Lemberg until 1865, after which he became a professor at the University of Graz. He planned the new chemistry laboratory in Graz, which was finished in 1878. Adolph Wurtz was sent by the French government to...
; Pesth: Th. WertheimTheodor WertheimTheodor Wertheim was an Austrian chemist born in Vienna.He was privatdozent in Vienna, and a professor at the University of Pest from 1853 to 1860. Afterwards he returned to Vienna, and beginning in 1861 worked at the University of Graz. In May, 1864 he moved back to Vienna, where he died soon...
; Vienna: V. v. LangViktor von LangViktor von Lang was an Austrian chemist. He is counted among the pioneers and founders of crystal physics.-References:...
, A. Lieben, Folwarezny, F. Schneider - Portugal. Coïmbra: Mide Carvalho
- Russia. Kharkov: Sawitsch; St. Petersburg: BorodinAlexander BorodinAlexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...
, Mendeleev, L. Schischkoff, Zinin N.Nikolay ZininNikolay Nikolaevich Zinin was a Russian organic chemist.-Life:He studied at the University of Kazan where he graduated in mathematics but he started teaching chemistry in 1835. To improve his skills he was asked to study in Europe for some time, which he did between 1838 and 1841...
; Warsaw: T. Lesinski, J. Natanson - Sweden. Harpenden: J. H. GilbertJoseph Henry GilbertSir Joseph Henry Gilbert was an English chemist, noteworthy for his long career spent improving the methods of practical agriculture. He was a fellow of the Royal Society.-Life:...
; Lund: Berlin, C. W. BlomstrandChristian Wilhelm BlomstrandChristian Wilhelm Blomstrand was a Swedish mineralogist and chemist.Blomstrand was born in Växjö, Sweden and studied chemistry at the University of Lund, where he received his Ph.D in 1850 and his habilitation in 1854. After a expedition to Spitsbergen and a being a lecturer at the Elementary...
; Stockholm: Bahr - Switzerland. Bern: C. Brunner, H. SchiffHugo SchiffHugo Schiff was a German Chemist. He discovered Schiff bases and other imines, and was responsible for research into aldehydes and had the Schiff test named after him. He also worked in the field of amino acids and the Biuret reagent.Born in Frankfurt am Main, Schiff was a student of Friedrich...
; Geneva: C. MarignacJean Charles Galissard de MarignacJean Charles Galissard de Marignac was a Swiss chemist whose work with atomic weights suggested the possibility of isotopes and the packing fraction of nuclei and whose study of the rare earth elements led to his discovery of ytterbium in 1878 and codiscovery of gadolinium in 1880.- Life and work...
; Lausanne: Bischoff; Reichenau bei Chur: A. v. Planta; Zurich: J. WislicenusJohannes WislicenusJohannes Wislicenus was a German chemist, most famous for his work in early stereochemistry.-Biography:... - Spain. Madrid: R. de Suna
Further reading
(subscription required)- (Note the incorrect spelling of Weltzien's name.)
- (Originally published in 1964.)
- (Note the incorrect month given for the conference.)