4 Tran<t. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis 



Friedoric'li WOdilcr, tln'ii a t<'af'lu'r at tli<' Oewerbo- 

 sclmlo ill PxtHii, hroko down this harrier; the first time 

 ill the world's iiistory a ciiemist had siiccooded in niakiiiu; 

 an organic material iianuM] Uroa from inorcranic sub- 

 stances, aii<l rccof/uizcd tltr fact. Since tiiat time an 

 almost inconceivahh' iinmlier of earbon compounds iiave 

 been construed and manufactured, y)art of wiiich were 

 produced by nature in })hints and organisms, and many 

 more of equal importance, wliicli are not found in nature 

 ])ut arc made in chemical laboratories by men. From 

 the i)reparation of artificial Urea the manufacture of 

 orc:anic chemical com])ounds has jijrown to enormous 

 dimensions, culminating: in tlie development of our pres- 

 ent dyestulT industry and the manufacture of medicinal 

 chemicals, of ])erfumes, flavors and scents. 



But the study of orii:anic compounds was taken up by 

 other and younaer men, among whom A. W. v. ilofmann 

 (1818-1892) became famous as leader in the dyestulT in- 

 dustry. After splendid discoveries in the field of organic 

 chemistry, "Woehler drifted back to research in the in- 

 organic field, where he had already been successful by 

 discovering a way of making metallic alumininni in 1S"J7, 

 and in 1856 lie discovered "Adamantine Boron" in co- 

 operation with St. Claire Deville. Woehler's life work 

 was in the field of inorganic chemistry, where he, through 

 his many followers, exerted great influence up to the end 

 of his life. Justus v. Liebig (1803-1873) was three years 

 younger than Woeliler, but they met in 18!2r) and became 

 friends for life. The continuous interchange of ex- 

 ])erience was most fruitful, and is well known from thcur 

 ]>iiblished correspondence. But about 1838 Liebig began 

 to drift into chemistry of ])laiit and animal life, and so 

 we find about the middle of the 19th century Woehler, 

 Ilofmann, and Liebig as the great leaders in three fields; 

 inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and agricultural 

 chemistry. lender the guidance of these illustrious men 

 and many of their colleagues, the three fields of chemis- 

 try have been developed by their many followers into 



