Roger Adams (1889–1971) was an American organic chemist. He is best-known for the eponymous Adams' catalyst, but also greatly influenced graduate education in America, taught over 250 Ph.D. students and postgraduate students, and served the U.S. as a scientist at the highest levels during World War I and World War II. 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Organic chemistry is the part of chemistry concerned with the composition, structure, properties, reactions and synthesis of organic compounds. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, which has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery or other item. ... Adams catalyst is usually represented as platinum(IV) oxide hydrate, PtO2-H2O. It is a catalyst for hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis in organic synthesis. ... A graduate school or grad school is a school that awards advanced degrees, with the general requirement that students must have earned an undergraduate (bachelors) degree. ... Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph. ... Quaternary education or postgraduate education is the fourth-stage educational level which follows the completion of an undergraduate degree at a college or university. ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

Early life and education (1889-1916)

Adams was part of the prominant Adams family, and was descended from John Adams's grandfather. Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in a prosperous neighborhood in South Boston, the last child in a gifted family that included Adams's three older sisters (two went to Radcliffe College and one to Smith College). For the macabre group of characters created by Charles Addams and featured in cartoons, television, and movies, see The Addams Family. ... John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was the first (1789–1797) Vice President of the United States, and the second President of the United States, whose term lasted from 1797 to 1801. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq. ... South Boston is a heavily populated neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, located south of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. ... Radcliffe College is the historical name of a womens educational institution closely associated with Harvard University. ... Smith College, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, is the largest womens college in the United States. ...

Adams attending Boston Latin School and Cambridge Latin High School (now called Cambridge Rindge and Latin). In 1900, the family moved to Cambridge, which was closer to the two colleges. Motto Sumus Primi Founded April 23, 1635 Head Master Ms. ... Name Cambridge Rindge and Latin Address 459 Broadway Town Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Established See Article Community Urban Type Public Secondary Religion Secular Students Coeducational Grades 9 to 12 Accreditation New England Association of Schools and Colleges (Barely) District Cambridge Public School District Nickname CRLS or Rindge Mascot Falcon Colors Black... Cambridge City Hall Settled: 1630 â€“ Incorporated: 1636 Zip Code(s): 02139 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ...

Adams entered Harvard University in 1905 and completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree in three years. In his first year he earned a John Harvard Honorary Scholarship by getting four As, and in his last year he took advanced courses and began research in organic chemistry under H.A. Torrey. His years at Harvard were undistinguished, earning high grades in chemistry (his major) and mining (his minor). After graduation from Harvard in 1909 he worked towards his Ph.D. at Radcliffe College supported by a teaching assistantship. Torrey died unexpectedly in 1910, so Adams finished his Ph.D. under Charles Loring Jackson, G.S. Forbes, and Latham Clarke. As an outstanding Ph.D. of 1912, Adams received a Parker Traveling Scholarship for 1912 and 1913, which he used to work at the laboratory of Emil Fischer and Otto Diels in Berlin, Germany and that of Richard Willstätter in Dahlem outside of Berlin. Harvard University campus (old map) Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Chemistry (derived from alchemy) is the science of matter at or near the atomic scale. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine This article is about mineral extraction. ... Charles Loring Jackson (1847-1935) was the first significant organic chemist in the United States. ... Hermann Emil Fischer (October 9, 1852 - July 15, 1919) was a German chemist and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1902. ... Otto Paul Hermann Diels (January 23, 1876 - March 7, 1954), a German chemist. ... For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation). ... Richard Willstätter Richard Martin Willstätter (August 13, 1872 – August 3, 1942) was a German chemist whose study of the structure of chlorophyll and other plant pigments won him the 1915 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. ... Dahlem can refer to: a district of Berlin, part of the borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf. ...

After returning from Europe in 1913, Adams returned to Harvard and worked as a research assistant for Charles L. Jackson for $800 a year. During the next three years he taught organic chemistry at Harvard and Radcliffe, initiated the first elementary organic chemistry laboratory at Harvard and began his own research program. Several other prominent contemporaries of Adams at Harvard Graduate School were Elmer Keiser Bolton, Farrington Daniels, Frank C. Whitmore, James B. Sumner and James Bryant Conant. They are poorly paid, scientifically skilled, highly educated cheap labor. ... Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (also known as GSAS) is the academic unit responsible for all post-baccalaureate degree programs offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. ... Elmer Keiser Bolton (1886-1968) was a prominent American and one of the first industrial research directors. ... Farrington Daniels (1889-1972) is considered one of the pioneers of the modern direct use of solar energy. ... Frank C. Whitmore, nicknamed Rocky, was a chemist who submitted the best piece of evidence for a carbocation mechanism in organic chemistry. ... James Batcheller Sumner (November 19, 1887 - August 12, 1955) was an American chemist. ... James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 - February 11, 1978) was a chemist, educational administrator, and public servant. ...

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1916-1971)

In 1916, Adams accepted an offer of an assistant professorship from William A. Noyes, head of the chemistry department at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He began a career at UIUC that would span 56 years. Adams succeeded Noyes as department head in 1926, and remained in that position until 1954. During this time, Adams made several well-known discoveries. William A. Noyes (1857-1941) was an American analytical and organic chemist. ... The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also known as UIUC and the U of I (the officially preferred abbreviation), is the flagship campus in the University of Illinois system. ...

Roger Adams and his students developed the so called Adams' catalyst, which is one of the most readily-prepared and active catalysts for hydrogenation reactions. The catalyst can be prepared by fusing sodium nitrate with chloroplatinic acid or ammonium chloroplatinate. Adams's group also developed a low-pressure apparatus for using the catalyst, which had a profound effect in the synthesis and structural elucidation of organic compounds as well as biochemical compounds. A catalyst (Greek: καταλύτης) is a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction, at some temperature, but without itself being transformed or consumed by the reaction (see also catalysis). ... Sodium nitrate is a type of salt(NaNO3)which has long been used as an ingredient in explosives and in solid rocket propellants, as well as in glass and pottery enamel, and as a food preservative (such as in hot dogs), and has been mined extensively for those purposes. ... Chloroplatinic Acid Please see dihydrogen hexachloroplatinate (IV) hexahydrate ... Organic chemistry is the part of chemistry concerned with the composition, structure, properties, reactions and synthesis of organic compounds. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of life, a bridge between biology and chemistry that studies how complex chemical reactions give rise to life. ...

Working the Noyes Laboratory, Adams and his more than 250 graduate students made many significant discoveries:

• Synthesis of chloralkyl esters by combining aldehydes and acyl chlorides.
• That aliphatic acid anhydrides effectively form ketones in the Friedel-Crafts reaction.
• Determination of the structure of disalicylaldehyde and dehydro-acetic acid.
• A method of synthesizing polyhydroxyanthraquinones with precisely-known stereochemistry using phthalides.
• Determination of the structures of leprosy drugs chaulmoogric acid and hydnocarpic acid and the synthesis of their dihydro derivatives.
• Determination of the structure of gossypol for the cottonseed industry.
• Isolated and identified cannabidiol from Cannabis sativa, showed its relationship to cannabinol and the tetrahydrocannabinol alkaloids.
• Synthesized cannabinol and tetrahydrocannabinol analogs.
• Studies of Senecio and Crotalaria alkaloids that opened two fields of study:pyrrolizidine and large-ring diester chemistry.

At UIUC, Adams took charge of the Organic Chemical Manufactures ("prep labs") started by his predecessor C.G. Derick for the synthesis of organic compounds from Germany that were cut off by the Blockade of Germany. The lab was expanded and reorganized with the help of students, particularly E.H. Volwiler and C.S. (Speed) Marvel. Strict cost accounting procedures were implemented in the lab, so that it became a financial as well as scientific success. The tested procedures developed in the lab led to the annual publication of the journal Organic Synthesis, which James Bryant Conant referred to as the "Adams Annual." An aldehyde is either a functional group consisting of a terminal carbonyl group or a compound containing a terminal carbonyl group. ... General Chemical Structure of an Acyl Chloride In organic chemistry, an acyl chloride (or acid chloride) is an organic compound which is a reactive derivative of a carboxylic acid. ... Ketone group A ketone is either the functional group characterized by a carbonyl group linked to two other carbon atoms or a chemical compound that contains this functional group. ... The Friedel-Crafts reactions are a set of reactions developed by Charles Friedel and James Crafts in 1877. ... Gossypol is a polyphenol C30H30O8 derived from the cottonseed plant (genus Gossypium, family Malvaceae) used as a male oral contraceptive in China. ... Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. ... Binomial name Cannabis sativa Linnaeus Cannabis sativa, also known as hemp, is a species of Cannabis. ... Cannabinol, also known as CBN, is a non_psychoactive cannabinoid found in the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. ... Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, Δ9-THC, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), Δ¹-tetrahydrocannabinol (using an older numbering scheme), or dronabinol, is the main psychoactive substance found in the Cannabis plant. ... An alkaloid is a nitrogenous organic molecule that has a pharmacological effect on humans and other animals. ... Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, Δ9-THC, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), Δ¹-tetrahydrocannabinol (using an older numbering scheme), or dronabinol, is the main psychoactive substance found in the Cannabis plant. ... Species See text The Genus Senecio of the daisy family (Family Asteraceae) includes ragworts and groundsels. ... Species See text Crotalaria is a genus of herbaceous plants and woody shrubs in the Family Fabaceae (Subfamily Faboideae) commonly know as rattlepods. ... James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 - February 11, 1978) was a chemist, educational administrator, and public servant. ...

Adams vigorously researched methods of preparing local anaesthetics with Oliver Kamm who was also on the facility of UIUC and a consultant to Abbott Laboratories in a relationship that lasted into the 1960s. E.H. Volwiler, Adam's first Ph.D. student,joined Abbott as a chemist in 1918. In 1917, Adams was drawn into research for the U.S. Army into poison gases at American University in Washington, D.C.; There he and Conant headed research groups and E.P. Kohler, an old faculty friend of Adams from Harvard, was in charge of the Offense Section. Cetacaine, a typical topical anesthetic Anesthesia or anaesthesia (see spelling differences), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ... Oliver Kamm (born 1963) is a British blogger, journalist and author. ... A little known fact is that kermit the frog was named after an abbott healthcare worker in 1967. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Early detection of chemical agents Sociopolitical climate of chemical warfare While the study of chemicals and their military uses was widespread in China, the use of toxic materials has historically been viewed with mixed emotions and some disdain in the West (especially when the enemy were doing it). ... For other universities known as American University, see American University (disambiguation). ... ... James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 - February 11, 1978) was a chemist, educational administrator, and public servant. ...

Adam's return to UIUC began a period (1918-1926) of intense research, with 45 Ph.D. students that resulted in 73 publications.

In July 1940, Vannevar Bush was working to mobilize American scientists in the World War IIwar effort. Bush wanted to bring Adams into the National Defense Research Committee that he was organizing for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many believed that Adams was the leading organic chemist in the United States, and Adams friend and former Harvard colleague James Bryant Conant was intent on Adams leading the effort to develop new explosives and create synthetic chemicals. However, Bush's efforts were stalled in getting Adams a security clearance. The Army cleared Adams, but the Navy refused. Vannevar Bush (March 11, 1890 – June 30, 1974) was an American engineer and science administrator, known for his political role in the development of the atomic bomb, and idea of the memex—seen as a pioneering concept for the World Wide Web. ... In military affairs, the war effort refers to the harnessing of economic and human resources towards support of a military force. ... In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... FDR redirects here. ... James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 - February 11, 1978) was a chemist, educational administrator, and public servant. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... A security clearance is a status granted individuals, typically members of the military and employees of governments and their contractors, allowing them access to classified information, i. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ...

At this time the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover was doing surveillance on "suspect American citizens" and had been keeping a file on Roger Adams. The FBI had informed Hoover that Adams was a leading member of an apparent Communist front group called the Lincoln's Birthday Committee for the Advancement of Science. The FBI also had information that Adams was a contributing member of a suspect Japanese propaganda magazine. Adams was also suspect in the eyes of the FBI because he was doing studies into the chemical mechanisms by which the plant cannabis sativa (marijuana) affects the brain. The plant had been effectively banned by the passage of the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. For the purposes of this research Adams had obtained red oil extract of the plant legally from the United States Department of the Treasury. In 1939, this was the main focus of Adams' work. For these reasons the Office of Naval Intelligence said it would never approve security clearance for Adams. Official FBI Seal The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal criminal investigative and intelligence agency which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Hoover in 1961 John Edgar Hoover KBE (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was the founder of the FBI in its present form and its director from May 10, 1924 until his death in 1972. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... A front organization, also known as a front group (if it is structured to look like a voluntary association) or a front company or simply a front (if it is structured to look like a company), is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization. ... Binomial name Cannabis sativa Linnaeus Cannabis sativa, also known as hemp, is a species of Cannabis. ... Species Cannabis indica Cannabis ruderalis Cannabis sativa Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant that includes one or more species. ... In the United States, the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act (strictly the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act) was one of the cornerstone bills that led to the criminalization of Cannabis. ... The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and the treasury of the United States government. ... The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was established in the United States Navy in 1882 in the wake of the American Civil War. ... A security clearance is a status granted individuals, typically members of the military and employees of governments and their contractors, allowing them access to classified information, i. ...

Hoover saw that political pressure was building to give Adams security clearance and that the FBI might have its facts wrong, so eventually backed down, indicating that "Professor Adams" is a very common name and there may be some confusion. However, Hoover continued to be suspicious of the political loyalties of the scientists involved in the World War II mobilization because of their internationalist worldview. Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation between nations for the benefit of all. ...

In the end Roger Adams got his security clearance and took charge of a successful effort to manufacture synthetic rubber to replace natural rubber supplies from the Far East that had been cut off by the war. This was a continuation of the work done by E.K. Bolton (Adams's friend from Harvard) at DuPont. Synthetic rubber is any type of artificially-made polymer material which acts as an elastomer. ... Far East is an inexact term often used for East Asia and Southeast Asia combined, sometimes including also the easternmost territories of Russia, i. ... Elmer Keiser Bolton (1886-1968) was a prominent American who was one of the first Industrial Research Directors who formulated many of the basic concepts of directing industrial research at E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. ... This article is about the DuPont company. ...

In Adams's case, the FBI had much of its information wrong. Adams was politically active, but not affiliated with any group called the Lincoln's Birthday Committee for the Advancement of Science. He was a member of the Lincoln's Birthday Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom (LBCDIF), which was founded by the prominent anthropologist Franz Boas to discredit Nazi racial policies. The Lincolns Birthday Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom (LBCDIF) was an antifascist organization of scientists founded by Franz Boas in 1938 to discredit the theories of race being forwarded by the Nazis in Germany. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, human or person) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... Franz Boas Franz Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 22, 1942) was one of the pioneers of modern anthropology and is often called the Father of American Anthropology. A German by birth, Boas worked for most of his life in North America. ... The Racial Policy of Nazi Germany refers to the policies and laws implemented by Nazi Germany, asserting the superiority of the Aryan race, and including measures aimed primarily against Jews. ...

Awards and Honoraria

• The American Chemical Society honored him with its highest prize, the Priestley Medal, in 1946.
• 1964 National Medal of Science

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. ... The Priestley Medal is awarded by the American Chemical Society (ACS) for distinguished service in the field of chemistry. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The National Medal of Science is an honor given by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the following six fields, behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics. ... National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science, also called the Presidential Medal of Science, is an honor given by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social...

External links

• Roger Adams (University of Illinois)
• Photograph of Roger Adams and other members of the NDRC

References

• D. Stanley Tarbell and Ann Tracy Tarbell, Roger Adams January 2, 1889-July 6, 1971, in Biographical Memoirs ed. National Academy Of Sciences, National Academies Press (December 1, 1982), ISBN 0309032873
• The Essex Antiquarian, published by The Essex antiquarian
• Dictionary of Scientific Biography: 1970-1990, Charles Scribner's Sons; vol. 15, p1-3.
• Journal of Chemistry 1979, 56, 163-165.
• Journal of the American Chemical Society 1969, 91, a-d.
• Proceedings of the Welch Foundation Conference 1977, 20, 204-228.
• D. S. Tarbell, A. T. Roger Adams Scientist and Statesman, American Chemical Society: 1981.
• Isis 1980, 71, 620-626.
• American Philosophical Society Yearbook 1974, pp.111-114.
• National Cyclopedia of American Biography: 1921-1984, James T. White & Co., vol. G, p336-337.
• McGraw Hill Modern Men of Science, McGraw-Hill (1966) vol. 1, p4-5
• The Hexagon 1979, 70, 9-17.
• American Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Miles, W. D., Ed., American Chemical Society (1976) p4-5.
• Ronald E. Doel, Roger Adams: Linking University Science with Policy on the World Stage, Chapter 9 of No Boundaries ed. Lillian Hoddeson, University of Illinois Press (May 1, 2004) ISBN 0252029577