Oliver Wolcott Gibbs
Encyclopedia
For the writer, see Wolcott Gibbs
.
Oliver Wolcott Gibbs (February 21, 1822 – December 9, 1908) was an American
chemist
. He is known for performing the first electrogravimetric analyses
, namely the reductions of copper and nickel ions to their respective metals.
in 1822 to George and Laura Gibbs. His father, Colonel George Gibbs
, was an ardent mineralogist; the mineral gibbsite
was named after him, and his collection was finally bought by Yale College
. Oliver was older brother to Alfred Gibbs
, who became a Union Army
Brigadier General
during the American Civil War
. Entering Columbia College
(now Columbia University
) in 1837, Wolcott (he dropped the name "Oliver" at an early date) graduated in 1841. Having assisted Robert Hare
at Pennsylvania University
for several months, he next entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York
, qualifying as a doctor of medicine in 1845.
Leaving the United States (US), Gibbs studied in Germany, considered a center of science, with Karl Friedrich August Rammelsberg
, Heinrich Rose
, and Justus von Liebig
, and in Paris with Auguste Laurent
, Jean-Baptiste Dumas
, and Henri Victor Regnault
.
He returned to the US in 1848 and that year became professor of chemistry at the Free Academy, now the City College of New York
. Gibbs was a candidate for Professor of Physical Science at Columbia in 1854, but his application was rejected because he was a Unitarian.
Gibbs became the Rumford professor at Harvard University
in 1863, a post he held until his retirement in 1887 as professor emeritus. After retirement, he moved to Newport, Rhode Island
, where he worked for about a decade in his own private laboratory.
Gibbs's research was mainly in analytical and inorganic chemistry
, especially the cobalt
-amines, platinum
metals, and complex acids. He published a number of articles related to spectroscopy
and the measurement of wavelengths. Gibbs was said to have been an excellent teacher, who also published many articles in scientific journals.
Wolcott Gibbs
Wolcott Gibbs was an American editor, humorist, theatre critic, playwright and author of short stories, who worked for The New Yorker magazine from 1927 until his death. He is best remembered for his 1936 parody of Time magazine, which skewered the magazine's inverted narrative structure...
.
Oliver Wolcott Gibbs (February 21, 1822 – December 9, 1908) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
. He is known for performing the first electrogravimetric analyses
Electrogravimetry
Electrogravimetry is a method used to separate and quantify ions of a substance, usually a metal. In this process, the analyte solution is electrolyzed. Electrochemical reduction causes the analyte to be deposited on the cathode...
, namely the reductions of copper and nickel ions to their respective metals.
Biography
Oliver Wolcott Gibbs was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1822 to George and Laura Gibbs. His father, Colonel George Gibbs
George Gibbs (mineralogist)
George Gibbs was an American mineralogist and mineral collector. The mineral gibbsite is named after him....
, was an ardent mineralogist; the mineral gibbsite
Gibbsite
Gibbsite, Al3, is one of the mineral forms of aluminium hydroxide. It is often designated as γ-Al3 . It is also sometimes called hydrargillite ....
was named after him, and his collection was finally bought by Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
. Oliver was older brother to Alfred Gibbs
Alfred Gibbs
Alfred Gibbs was a career officer in the United States Army who served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
, who became a Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Entering Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
(now Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
) in 1837, Wolcott (he dropped the name "Oliver" at an early date) graduated in 1841. Having assisted Robert Hare
Robert Hare (chemist)
Robert Hare was an early American chemist.Hare was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 17, 1781. He developed and experimented with the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, with Edward Daniel Clarke of Oxford, shortly after 1800. He married Harriett Clark and had six children...
at Pennsylvania University
Pennsylvania University
Pennsylvania University may refer to one of two unrelated universities:* University of Pennsylvania, a private university* Pennsylvania State University, a state-related university...
for several months, he next entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
, qualifying as a doctor of medicine in 1845.
Leaving the United States (US), Gibbs studied in Germany, considered a center of science, with Karl Friedrich August Rammelsberg
Karl Friedrich August Rammelsberg
Karl Friedrich August Rammelsberg was a German mineralogist from Berlin, Prussia.He was educated for the medical profession and graduated in 1837 at Berlin University. In 1841 he became privatdozent in the university, and in 1845 professor extraordinary of chemistry...
, Heinrich Rose
Heinrich Rose
Heinrich Rose was a German mineralogist and analytical chemist. He was the brother of the mineralogist Gustav Rose and a son of Valentin Rose....
, and 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...
, and in Paris with Auguste Laurent
Auguste Laurent
Auguste Laurent was a French chemist who discovered anthracene, phthalic acid, and identified carbolic acid....
, Jean-Baptiste Dumas
Jean-Baptiste Dumas
Jean 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...
, and Henri Victor Regnault
Henri Victor Regnault
Henri Victor Regnault was a French chemist and physicist best known for his careful measurements of the thermal properties of gases. He was an early thermodynamicist and was mentor to William Thomson in the late 1840s....
.
He returned to the US in 1848 and that year became professor of chemistry at the Free Academy, now the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
. Gibbs was a candidate for Professor of Physical Science at Columbia in 1854, but his application was rejected because he was a Unitarian.
Gibbs became the Rumford professor at Harvard University
Harvard 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...
in 1863, a post he held until his retirement in 1887 as professor emeritus. After retirement, he moved to Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, where he worked for about a decade in his own private laboratory.
Gibbs's research was mainly in analytical and inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. This field covers all chemical compounds except the myriad organic compounds , which are the subjects of organic chemistry...
, especially the cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
-amines, platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
metals, and complex acids. He published a number of articles related to spectroscopy
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
and the measurement of wavelengths. Gibbs was said to have been an excellent teacher, who also published many articles in scientific journals.
Commemorations
- National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, President (also a founding member), 1895-1900. - American Association for the Advancement of Science, President, 1897.
- Gibbs has been honored by the naming of features in and near Yosemite National Park. Mt. GibbsMount GibbsMount Gibbs is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of the U.S. state of California, south of Mount Dana. The mountain was named after Oliver Gibbs, a professor at Harvard University and friend of Josiah Whitney...
stands 3,893 metres (12,773 ft) above sea level. Gibbs Lake is located at 2,905 m (9,530 ft) above sea level in the canyon northeast of the peak. Gibbs Lake is formed by Gibbs Creek, originating in the upper reaches of Gibbs Canyon, and drains into Lee Vining Canyon. - Gibbs is one of the few scientists recognized in the United States Capitol in Washington DC. A small statue of him is on the Amateis bronze doors.
- The Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory, a chemistry research building, was constructed by Harvard University on its campus in 1911-1913 (demolished 2001-2002). This four-story free-standing building had a footprint of 71 feet by 41 feet. Prof. William LipscombWilliam LipscombWilliam Nunn Lipscomb, Jr. was a Nobel Prize-winning American inorganic and organic chemist working in nuclear magnetic resonance, theoretical chemistry, boron chemistry, and biochemistry.-Overview:...
did much of his Nobel prizewinning research on boron chemistry in Gibbs Lab, continuing work started at the University of Minnesota.
Further reading
- Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.