BiocHEMiCAL Bulletin 



Volume II JANUARY, 1913 No. 6 



CARL L. ALSBERG 



Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry of the U. S. Department of 



Agriculture 



Carl Lucas Aisberg was born April 2, 1877, in New York City, 

 son of Bertha (Baruch) and Meinhard Aisberg. From early child- 

 hood Aisberg evinced an interest in natural science, especially 

 biology. This was partly due to traiining and environment, and 

 partly to a natural inclination. 



His father, a chemist of distinction and one of the first to manu- 

 facture organic dye stuffs in this country, was graduated (Ph.D.) 

 from the University of Jena, and trained under Wöhler (Uni- 

 versity of Göttingen), Bunsen (University of Marburg), and 

 Geuther (University of Jena). He was assistant to Professor 

 Geuther ät Jena and Privatdozent in chemistry at that University. 

 About 1865 he became assistant to Prof. Chandler in the School of 

 Mines at Columbia College. Later he was chemist to the New 

 York City Board of Health under Prof. Chandler. Subsequently 

 he was occupied in chemical manufacture and chemical engineering. 

 He died in 1897. He was one of the founders and first Secretary 

 of the New York Chemical Society, from which the American 

 Chemical Society developed. He had given up the academic career, 

 in which he had unusual prospects, in order to support his wife and 

 parents. But the spirit of research continued to influence the 

 father, and he never ceased to have an active interest in the purely 

 scientific side of chemistry This point of view was maintained in 

 spite of a very active and rapidly growing business, and at a time 

 r when research in theoretical science did not receive the recognition 



o in this country that later was conceded to it. It had an effect in 



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