Louis Fieser
Encyclopedia
Louis Frederick Fieser was an organic chemist, professor, and in 1968, professor emeritus at Harvard University
. He was renowned as the inventor, in 1943, of a militarily effective form of napalm
. His award-winning research included work on blood-clotting agents including the first synthesis of vitamin K
, synthesis and screening of quinone
s as antimalarial
drugs, work with steroid
s leading to the synthesis of cortisone
, and study of the nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
, obtained his BA in chemistry in 1920 from Williams College
, and his PhD under James Bryant Conant
at Harvard in 1924. His graduate research concerned the measurement of oxidation potentials in quinone
oxidation. in 1924 -1925 Fieser worked at the University of Oxford
with W.H. Perkin Jr.
and with Julius von Braun at the Frankfurt University as a postdoc. Between 1925 and 1930 he worked at Bryn Mawr College
where he met his future wife. He then moved to Harvard University
.
With his research assistant and wife Mary Peters Fieser
(MA, 1936, Radcliffe) he coauthored eight books and the first seven volumes of the classic series Reagents for Organic Synthesis known popularly among chemists as "Fieser and Fieser". He was also an editor and contributor for Organic syntheses
.
Fieser had two chemical reagents named for him. Fieser's reagent is a mixture of chromium trioxide
in acetic acid
. Fieser's solution is an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide
, sodium hydrosulfite, and sodium anthraquinone b-sulfonate used for the removal of oxygen
from a gas stream. Woodward's rules
for calculating UV absorption maxima are also known as the Woodward-Fieser rules.
In 1939 Fieser was involved in a competitive race for the structure elucidation of Vitamin K
and he was able to report its synthesis in the end of that year. According to a recent in memoriam Fieser was a contender for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
in 1941 and 1942 (when no prizes were actually awarded) but in 1943 the award for the discovery of vitamin K was given to another worker in this field.
In 1962 he served on the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee that in 1964 issued a report on the relationship between smoking and health
. Fieser was a chain smoker and only after he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1965 and recovered he quit the habit and started to actively promote the committee's conclusions.
Fieser was the graduate advisor of 1987 Nobel
laureate Donald J. Cram
.
He was also involved in Project X-ray
, a scheme to drop a great number of bats with small incendiary charges with a timed fuse attached over Japan to start a multitude of fires. During World War II Fieser was partly responsible for a military experiment that went disastrously awry, Project X-Ray, in which tiny napalm incendiaries were attached to bats, who were to be dropped from bombers over Japan. After the bats nested in housing and factories, timed fuses would ignite the napalm and start widespread fires. During a test run, a number of the bats escaped and ignited Carlsbad Airfield's hangers, barracks, and a general's car. "The accidental incineration of Carlsbad Auxiliary Army Airfield by incendiary bats was both a high and a low for Project X-Ray.' Fieser omitted the account of the fires from his own account of the bat tests.
Dow Chemical began producing his formula for Napalm during World War II
. Despite Fieser's involvement in losing control of several of these bats, and the resultant accidental burning of an auxiliary airbase in the southwestern United States, it was not until the Vietnam War
that the use of the jellied gasoline stirred controversy. Fieser, however, was unapologetic for its creation. He stated, "I have no right to judge the morality of Napalm just because I invented it."
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...
. He was renowned as the inventor, in 1943, of a militarily effective form of napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
. His award-winning research included work on blood-clotting agents including the first synthesis of vitamin K
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar, fat soluble vitamins that are needed for the posttranslational modification of certain proteins required for blood coagulation and in metabolic pathways in bone and other tissue. They are 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives...
, synthesis and screening of quinone
Quinone
A quinone is a class of organic compounds that are formally "derived from aromatic compounds [such as benzene or naphthalene] by conversion of an even number of –CH= groups into –C– groups with any necessary rearrangement of double bonds," resulting in "a fully conjugated cyclic dione structure."...
s as antimalarial
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
drugs, work with steroid
Steroid
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.The core...
s leading to the synthesis of cortisone
Cortisone
Cortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,...
, and study of the nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Overview
Fieser was born in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, obtained his BA in chemistry in 1920 from Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, and his PhD under James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. As thePresident of Harvard University he reformed it as a research institution.-Biography :...
at Harvard in 1924. His graduate research concerned the measurement of oxidation potentials in quinone
Quinone
A quinone is a class of organic compounds that are formally "derived from aromatic compounds [such as benzene or naphthalene] by conversion of an even number of –CH= groups into –C– groups with any necessary rearrangement of double bonds," resulting in "a fully conjugated cyclic dione structure."...
oxidation. in 1924 -1925 Fieser worked at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
with W.H. Perkin Jr.
William Henry Perkin, Jr.
William Henry Perkin, Jr. was an English organic chemist who was primarily known for his groundbreaking research work on the degradation of naturally occurring organic compounds.-Early life:...
and with Julius von Braun at the Frankfurt University as a postdoc. Between 1925 and 1930 he worked at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
where he met his future wife. He then moved to 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...
.
With his research assistant and wife Mary Peters Fieser
Mary Peters Fieser
Mary Peters Fieser was an American chemist best known for the many books she wrote with her husband Louis Fieser.She was born Mary Peters in 1909 in Atchison, Kansas...
(MA, 1936, Radcliffe) he coauthored eight books and the first seven volumes of the classic series Reagents for Organic Synthesis known popularly among chemists as "Fieser and Fieser". He was also an editor and contributor for Organic syntheses
Organic Syntheses
Organic Syntheses is a scientific journal that since 1921 has provided the chemistry community with annual collections of detailed and checked procedures for the organic synthesis of organic compounds. The journal is peer reviewed...
.
Fieser had two chemical reagents named for him. Fieser's reagent is a mixture of chromium trioxide
Chromium trioxide
Chromium trioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula CrO3. It is the acidic anhydride of chromic acid, and is sometimes marketed under the same name.This compound is a dark-red/orange brown solid, which dissolves in water concomitant with hydrolysis...
in acetic acid
Acetic acid
Acetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CO2H . It is a colourless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar , and has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell...
. Fieser's solution is an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide
Potassium hydroxide
Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula KOH, commonly called caustic potash.Along with sodium hydroxide , this colorless solid is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications. Most applications exploit its reactivity toward acids and its corrosive...
, sodium hydrosulfite, and sodium anthraquinone b-sulfonate used for the removal of oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
from a gas stream. Woodward's rules
Woodward's rules
Woodward's rules, named after Robert Burns Woodward and also known as Woodward-Fieser rules are several sets of empirically derived rules which attempt to predict the wavelength of the absorption maximum in an ultraviolet-visible spectrum of a given compound...
for calculating UV absorption maxima are also known as the Woodward-Fieser rules.
In 1939 Fieser was involved in a competitive race for the structure elucidation of Vitamin K
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar, fat soluble vitamins that are needed for the posttranslational modification of certain proteins required for blood coagulation and in metabolic pathways in bone and other tissue. They are 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives...
and he was able to report its synthesis in the end of that year. According to a recent in memoriam Fieser was a contender for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
in 1941 and 1942 (when no prizes were actually awarded) but in 1943 the award for the discovery of vitamin K was given to another worker in this field.
In 1962 he served on the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee that in 1964 issued a report on the relationship between smoking and health
Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States
Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States was a landmark report published on January 11, 1964 by the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health, chaired by then-Surgeon General of the United States Luther Terry regarding the...
. Fieser was a chain smoker and only after he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1965 and recovered he quit the habit and started to actively promote the committee's conclusions.
Fieser was the graduate advisor of 1987 Nobel
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...
laureate Donald J. Cram
Donald J. Cram
Donald James Cram was an American chemist who shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Jean-Marie Lehn and Charles J...
.
He was also involved in Project X-ray
Bat bomb
Bat bombs were bomb-shaped casings with numerous compartments, each containing a Mexican Free-tailed Bat with a small timed incendiary bomb attached. Dropped from a bomber at dawn, the casings would deploy a parachute in mid-flight and open to release the bats which would then roost in eaves and...
, a scheme to drop a great number of bats with small incendiary charges with a timed fuse attached over Japan to start a multitude of fires. During World War II Fieser was partly responsible for a military experiment that went disastrously awry, Project X-Ray, in which tiny napalm incendiaries were attached to bats, who were to be dropped from bombers over Japan. After the bats nested in housing and factories, timed fuses would ignite the napalm and start widespread fires. During a test run, a number of the bats escaped and ignited Carlsbad Airfield's hangers, barracks, and a general's car. "The accidental incineration of Carlsbad Auxiliary Army Airfield by incendiary bats was both a high and a low for Project X-Ray.' Fieser omitted the account of the fires from his own account of the bat tests.
Dow Chemical began producing his formula for Napalm during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Despite Fieser's involvement in losing control of several of these bats, and the resultant accidental burning of an auxiliary airbase in the southwestern United States, it was not until the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
that the use of the jellied gasoline stirred controversy. Fieser, however, was unapologetic for its creation. He stated, "I have no right to judge the morality of Napalm just because I invented it."
External links
- The Man Who Invented Napalm Time magazine January 5, 1968 (Internet archiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) - Brief bio and photo at Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, accessed February 9, 2006 - Contributions of Organic Chemists to Biochemistry Journal of Biological Chemistry online, accessed February 9, 2006
- http://50.56.66.97/content/ii-bats-away, accessed May 6, 2011.