Oral history interview with Herbert C. Brown

1994-Nov-11

Herbert C. Brown studied at Crane Junior College, where he became fascinated by chemistry and its history; when Crane closed down, Brown was among the students invited to work in Nicholas D. Cheronis' Synthetical Laboratories, where he earned enough to enroll in a University of Chicago correspondence course on qualitative analysis and supplemented his education by working with Fales's Quantitative Analysis. Brown continued his studies and lab work at Wright Junior College and the University of Chicago. During his career he worked at the University of Chicago, Wayne State University, and later Purdue University; during the interview he detailed his studies on steric effects, boranes, and borohydride synthesis. Brown worked for the National Defense Research Committee during World War II, which included research on the volatile compounds of uranium, uranium borohydride production and testing, sodium trimethoxyborohydride production, and sodium borohydride development.

Property	Value
Interviewee	Brown, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1912-2004
Interviewer	Bohning, James J.
Place of interview	Purdue University Indiana--West Lafayette
Format	Sound Text
Genre	Oral histories
Extent	51 pages 2h 26m 19s
Language	English
Subject	Emigration and immigration Nobel Prize winners Purdue University United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. National Defense Research Committee University of Chicago Wayne State University World War (1939-1945)
Rights	Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Rights holder	Science History Institute
Credit line	Courtesy of Science History Institute
Digitization funder	Audio synchronization made possible through the generous funding of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

About the Interviewer

James J. Bohning was professor emeritus of chemistry at Wilkes University, where he had been a faculty member from 1959 to 1990. He served there as chemistry department chair from 1970 to 1986 and environmental science department chair from 1987 to 1990. Bohning was chair of the American Chemical Society’s Division of the History of Chemistry in 1986; he received the division’s Outstanding Paper Award in 1989 and presented more than forty papers at national meetings of the society. Bohning was on the advisory committee of the society’s National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program from its inception in 1992 through 2001 and is currently a consultant to the committee. He developed the oral history program of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and he was CHF’s director of oral history from 1990 to 1995. From 1995 to 1998, Bohning was a science writer for the News Service group of the American Chemical Society. In May 2005, he received the Joseph Priestley Service Award from the Susquehanna Valley Section of the American Chemical Society. Bohning passed away in September 2011.

Physical location

Department	Center for Oral History
Collection	Oral History Collection Oral Histories of Immigration and Innovation
Oral history number	0117

Interviewee biographical information

Born	May 22, 1912 London, United Kingdom
Died	December 19, 2004 Lafayette, Indiana, United States

Education

Year	Institution	Degree	Discipline
1935	Wilbur Wright Junior College	Assoc. Sci.
1936	University of Chicago	BS
1938	University of Chicago	PhD	Inorganic Chemistry

Professional Experience

University of Chicago

1938 to 1939 Eli Lilly Postdoctoral Fellow
1939 to 1943 Instructor of Chemistry
1941 to 1943 Instructor and Research Investigator

Wayne State University

1943 to 1946 Assistant Professor
1946 to 1947 Associate Professor

Purdue University

1947 to 1959 Professor of Chemistry
1959 to 1960 Wetherill Professor of Chemistry
1960 to 1978 Wetherill Research Professor of Chemistry
1978 to 1995 Emeritus Wetherill Research Professor of Chemistry

Honors

Year(s)	Award
1951	Sigma Xi Award, Purdue Section of Sigma Xi
1953	Harrison Howe Award, Rochester Section of the American Chemical Society
1955	Centenary Lectureship and Medal, The Chemical Society, London, England
1957	Elected to National Academy of Science
1959	William H. Nichols Medal, New York Section, American Chemical Society
1960	Award for Creative Research in Organic Chemistry, American Chemical Society
1960	S. O. C. M.A. Medal, Society of Organic Chemistry Manufacturing Association
1961	Phi Lambda Upsilon Key for Honorary Membership, Phi Lambda Upsilon
1962	Honorary Member, Phi Lambda Upsilon
1962	Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1968	Linus Pauling Medal, Oregon and Puget Sound Sections, American Chemical Society
1968	Doctor of Science, University of Chicago
1969	National Medal of Science
1971	Roger Adams Medal, Organic Division, American Chemical Society
1972	Phi Beta Kappa
1973	Charles Frederick Chandler Medal, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University
1974	Chemical Pioneer Award, American Institute of Chemists
1975	Madison Marshall Award
1976	City College of New York Chemistry Alumni Award and Medal for Scientific Achievement
1977	Elected Fellow, Indian National Science Academy
1977	Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry
1978	C. K. Ingold Lecture and Medal, The Chemical Society, London
1978	Elliot Cresson Medal, The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia
1979	The Nobel Award and Medal, The Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden
1980	Medal of Culture, Ministry of Education, Taiwan, ROC
1980	Nobel Hall of Science, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
1980	Honorary Member, Chinese Chemical Society
1980	Honorary Old Master, Purdue University
1980	Doctor of Science, Wayne State University
1980	Doctor of Science, Lebanon Valley College
1980	Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Long Island University
1980	Doctor Philosophiae honoris causa, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
1980	Grado Academico Honorifico de Doctor Scientiae honoris causa, Pontificia
1981	Priestley Medal, American Chemical Society
1981	Doctor of Science, Purdue University
1981	Doctor in Scientiae honoris causa, University of Wales
1982	Perkin Medal, American Section, Society of Chemical Industry
1982	Elected Honorary Member, The Indiana Academy
1982	Honorary Member, Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
1982	Honorary Member, Chemical Society of Japan
1982	Corresponding Member, Academy of Arts and Sciences of Puerto Rico
1982	Doctor of Science, Butler University
1982	Docteur honoris causa, Université de Paris-Sud
1983	A. J. Beckman Memorial Medal, Colorado School of Mines
1983	Honorary Member, Gold Key National Honor Society
1985	A. I. C. Gold Medal, American Institute of Chemists
1985	Doctor of Science, Ball State University
1986	Sixtieth Anniversary Commemorative Medal, Jewish Academy of Arts and Sciences
1986	Sesquicentennial Commemorative Medal, National Library of Medicine
1987	National Academy of Sciences Award and Medal in Chemical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences
1987	G. M. Kosolapoff Award and Medal, Auburn Section, American Chemical Society
1987	Dedication of the H. C. Brown Laboratories of Chemistry
1989	Medal of the Government of Japan: Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star Emperor, Government of Japan
1990	Oesper Award, Cincinnati Section, American Chemical Society
1991	Honorary Member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of the Russian Federal Republic
1991	Corresponding Member, Academia Mexicana de la Investigation Cientifica
1994	Honorary Scholar, University of Wales, Swansea, Wales
1994	Honorary Professor, Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
1995	University Medal of Highest Honor, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea
1995	Distinguished Scholar Award, Indiana Academy of Science
1996	Visitante Distinguido, BUSA V-MEX, Mexico
1996	Visitante Distinguido, La Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico

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The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.