178 Obituary Notices of Fellows deceased. 



this question. A series of very carefully executed experiments gave 

 him only negative results. Accordingly, he concluded that a glycerine, 

 C-2H 6 03, in the two-carbon group does not appear to exist. 



The view of the constitution of glycerine [C 3 H 5 (OH)3], as pointed 

 out before, had, however, not been strictly proved. Gerhardt* 



p TT r\ -\ 



considered the formula ' |r f 2 more probable than the one given 



before. To decide which of the two is to be preferred, Simpson 

 examined the action of acids on glycol. His results were analogous 

 to those obtained by the action of acids on glycerine, consequently 



- OH 



the structure of glycerine is : C 3 H 5 - OH, analogous to that of glycol 



- OH 

 (" Proc. K.S.," ix, 725, and x, 114.) 



The experiments of Hofmann and Wurtz had established the 

 important fact that the hydrogen of ammonia can be replaced by 

 monovalent compound radicals. Cloez and Natanson had attempted 

 the replacement of the hydrogen in ammonia by the divalent radical 

 C 2 H 4 without obtaining very satisfactory results. Simpson now com- 

 menced experiments with the view of substituting a trivalent com- 

 pound radical for hydrogen in ammonia. He heated for this purpose 

 allylic tribromide with an alcoholic solution of ammonia, expecting 

 to obtain a triamine (C 3 H 5 (NH 2 ) 8 . This expectation was not realised, 



a sewndary amine N/j.^ 3 ^ 4 ^ 1 / 2 oe i n g the result. This base in interesting, 



because it yields picoline, CeHrN, by further treatment with alcoholic 

 ammonia, f 



Many of the halogen compounds of the olefines, which Simpson 

 wanted for his experiments, were at the time hardly known at all, 

 others only very imperfectly. He, accordingly, investigated more 

 carefully the following: C 3 H 6 C1 I ("P.,"J xii, 278); C 2 H 4 ClBr 

 ("P.," xxvii, 118); C 3 H 5 Cl 2 Br ("P.," xxvii, 118); CsHyClBr ("P.," 

 xxvii, 118); CH 3 CHBrI ("P.," xxvii, 424); CoH 8 Br 3 (" Phil. Mag.," 

 (4), xiv, 544); and prepared for the first time; C 2 H 4 C1I ("P.," xi, 590, 

 xii, 278); CsHtfClI ("P.," xii, 278); C 2 H 3 ClBrI (" P.," xiii, 540); 

 CsH 5 Cl 2 I ("P.," xiii, 540); C 2 H 4 BrI ("P.," xxii, 51); C 2 H 3 Br 2 I 

 ("P.," xxii, 51); C 3 H 6 BrI (" P.," xxii, 51); C 3 H,Br 2 Cl ("P.," xxvii, 

 118) ; CHsCHCl I (" P.," xxvii, 424). 



This work repeatedly occupied him in the course of his scientific 

 career. 



The hydride and the chloride of acetyl react with great facility 

 with many substances. Consequently, they may be expected to react 



* '' Traite Chim. Organique," iv, 699. 

 f "Phil Mag.," (4), xvi, 257. J P = u Proc. Eoy. Soc." 



