The Michael Heidelberger Papers

Title:

Letter from Michael Heidelberger to Hugh S. Taylor, Princeton University

Description:

Heidelberger had helped to synthesize cyclooctatetraene, the next higher analog of benzene (consisting of a ring with eight carbon atoms and four double bonds), during a year of postdoctoral study (1911-12) in the laboratory of the 1915 Nobel Laureate, Richard Willstatter, at the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. His research with Willstatter on cyclooctatetraene was controversial, and was questioned as late as the 1940s by Hugh S. Taylor and Charles D. Hurd. Heidelberger, however, strongly defended his results, as documented in this letter, pointing out that while Taylor and Hurd showed that cyclooctatetraene resinifies and degrades at high temperatures, he had worked in cold temperatures continuously for 24 hours to synthesize a colorless liquid that was both stable and reactive. Heidelberger and Willstatter's results stood, and as a consequence of their work cyclooctatetraene became a widely used intermediate in organic chemistry.

Number of Image Pages:

1 (53,023 Bytes)

Date:

1939-11-07 (November 7, 1939)

Creator:

Heidelberger, Michael

Recipient:

Taylor, Hugh S.

Princeton University

Rights:

This item is in the public domain. It may be used without permission.

Subject:

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH):: Chemistry, Organic

Exhibit Category:

The Making of an Immunologist: Heidelberger's Years at the Rockefeller Institute, 1912-1927

Relation:

Letter from Michael Heidelberger to Hugh S. Taylor, Princeton University (September 9, 1939)

Letter from Hugh S. Taylor, Princeton University to Michael Heidelberger (November 4, 1939)

Letter from Michael Heidelberger to Charles D. Hurd, Northwestern University (November 8, 1939)

Letter from Charles D. Hurd, Northwestern University to Michael Heidelberger (November 29, 1939)

Letter from Richard Willstatter to Michael Heidelberger (March 27, 1940)

Box Number: 1

Folder Number: 1

Unique Identifier:

DHBBMF

Document Type:

Letters (correspondence)

Language:

English

Format:

application/pdf

image/tif

Physical Condition:

Good

Folder: MS C 245 (first finding aid)

Metadata Last Modified Date:

2006-06-13

U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services
USA.gov, Copyright, Privacy, Accessibility
Comments, Viewers, Acknowledgments