Josiah Parsons Cooke
Encyclopedia
Josiah Parsons Cooke was an American
scientist who worked at Harvard University
and was instrumental in the measurement of atomic weights
, inspiring America's first Nobel laureate
in chemistry
, Theodore Richards
, to pursue similar research. Cooke's 1854 paper on atomic weights has been said to foreshadow the periodic law
developed later by Mendeleev
and others. Historian I. Bernard Cohen
described Cooke "as the first university chemist to do truly distinguished work in the field of chemistry" in the United States.
and as a teenager set up his own chemical laboratory, partly due to an interest sparked by lectures of Yale
's Benjamin Silliman
. The teaching of chemistry at Harvard was in poor shape at this time, so after Cooke entered the university in 1843 he continued to be largely self-taught in the subject. Cooke graduated from Harvard in 1848 with an A.B., and became a mathematics tutor there the following year. In 1850 he was elected the Erving Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy at Harvard, although he had had little formal education in chemistry.
Reversing the modern order, after Cooke obtained his professorship he embarked on a plan of advanced study, spending eight months in Europe attending the lectures of Dumas
and Regnault
. On returning to the United States, Cooke began in earnest to raise the standard of chemical education at Harvard, introducing required courses in chemistry, accompanied by laboratory instruction. He was one of the first, if not the very first, in the United States to use laboratory work to teach chemistry.
Cooke's first publication was in 1852, a study of an arsenic
crystal. This was followed by investigations of the atomic weights of arsenic and other elements. In 1857 he published a collection of chemical problems for use of the undergraduates of Harvard College
with reference to the Elements of Chemistry by Julius Adolph Stöckhardt
. By 1862 Cooke also was publishing in the new field of spectroscopy
. He studied crystals throughout his career, and the mineral "cookeite", an aluminosilicate quartz
, is named after him. In addition to his research efforts, Cooke taught a course in introductory chemistry for over forty years and was, by all accounts, quite successful at it. According to Jackson, Cooke published forty-one scientific papers based on his research and thirty-two on other subjects, along with at least eight books.
Among the areas in which Cooke took an interest and published in was the relationship between religion and science
.
Cooke married Mary H. Huntington in 1860; the couple had no children. He died in 1894 in Newport, Rhode Island
, and was buried at the Mount Auburn Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scientist who worked 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...
and was instrumental in the measurement of atomic weights
Atomic mass
The atomic mass is the mass of a specific isotope, most often expressed in unified atomic mass units. The atomic mass is the total mass of protons, neutrons and electrons in a single atom....
, inspiring America's first Nobel laureate
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Theodore Richards
Theodore William Richards
Theodore William Richards was the first American scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, earning the award "in recognition of his exact determinations of the atomic weights of a large number of the chemical elements."- Biography :Theodore Richards was born in Germantown, Philadelphia,...
, to pursue similar research. Cooke's 1854 paper on atomic weights has been said to foreshadow the periodic law
Periodic table
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
developed later by Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev , was a Russian chemist and inventor. He is credited as being the creator of the first version of the periodic table of elements...
and others. Historian I. Bernard Cohen
I. Bernard Cohen
I. Bernard Cohen was the Victor S. Thomas Professor of the history of science at Harvard University and the author of many books on the history of science and, in particular, Isaac Newton....
described Cooke "as the first university chemist to do truly distinguished work in the field of chemistry" in the United States.
Life and work
Josiah Parsons Cooke was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1827. He attended Boston Latin SchoolBoston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
and as a teenager set up his own chemical laboratory, partly due to an interest sparked by lectures of Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
's Benjamin Silliman
Benjamin Silliman
Benjamin Silliman was an American chemist, one of the first American professors of science , and the first to distill petroleum.-Early life:...
. The teaching of chemistry at Harvard was in poor shape at this time, so after Cooke entered the university in 1843 he continued to be largely self-taught in the subject. Cooke graduated from Harvard in 1848 with an A.B., and became a mathematics tutor there the following year. In 1850 he was elected the Erving Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy at Harvard, although he had had little formal education in chemistry.
Reversing the modern order, after Cooke obtained his professorship he embarked on a plan of advanced study, spending eight months in Europe attending the lectures of 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 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....
. On returning to the United States, Cooke began in earnest to raise the standard of chemical education at Harvard, introducing required courses in chemistry, accompanied by laboratory instruction. He was one of the first, if not the very first, in the United States to use laboratory work to teach chemistry.
Cooke's first publication was in 1852, a study of an arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
crystal. This was followed by investigations of the atomic weights of arsenic and other elements. In 1857 he published a collection of chemical problems for use of the undergraduates of Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
with reference to the Elements of Chemistry by Julius Adolph Stöckhardt
Julius Adolph Stöckhardt
Julius Adolph Stöckhardt was a German agricultural chemist. He is mostly recognized for his work on fertilizers, fume damage of plants and his book Die Schule der Chemie , which was translated into 14 languages...
. By 1862 Cooke also was publishing in the new field of 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...
. He studied crystals throughout his career, and the mineral "cookeite", an aluminosilicate quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, is named after him. In addition to his research efforts, Cooke taught a course in introductory chemistry for over forty years and was, by all accounts, quite successful at it. According to Jackson, Cooke published forty-one scientific papers based on his research and thirty-two on other subjects, along with at least eight books.
Among the areas in which Cooke took an interest and published in was the relationship between religion and science
Relationship between religion and science
The relationship between religion and science has been a focus of the demarcation problem. Somewhat related is the claim that science and religion may pursue knowledge using different methodologies. Whereas the scientific method basically relies on reason and empiricism, religion also seeks to...
.
Cooke married Mary H. Huntington in 1860; the couple had no children. He died in 1894 in 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...
, and was buried at the Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
.
Activities and honors
- 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...
, elected a member in 1872 - Associate Editor, American Journal of ScienceAmerican Journal of ScienceThe American Journal of Science is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself...
, 1877 - Doctor of Laws, honorary degree, University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, 1882 - President, American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, 1892–1894
External links
- Obituary – from The New York Times
- Obituary from The Harvard Crimson (1894)– National Academy of Sciences – subscription required