Article

pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc

Augustus Matthiessen and His Contributions to Chemistry

Simón Reif-Acherman*
School of Chemical Engineering, Universidad del Valle, A. A. 25360 Cali, Colombia

ABSTRACT: The British scientist Augustus Matthiessen (1831−1870) is widely known for his investigations on the influence
of temperature on the electric conductivity of metals and alloys. However, his contributions to other areas of science throughout
his career are not widely acknowledged. His research on the electrolytic decomposition of metallic salts resulted in the isolation
of pure alkali and alkaline earth metalsincluding calcium, magnesium, strontium, and lithiumas well as the identification of
some of their properties. His studies on the definitive composition and formulas of a group of alkaloids and the products resulting
from their decomposition contributed to the establishment and definition of a general and consistent system of nomenclature for
organic compounds in the 19th century.
KEYWORDS: General Public, Second-Year Undergraduate, History/Philosophy, Organic Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Metals

■ FORMATIVE YEARS
Augustus Matthiessen was born in London on January 2, 1831.
He suffered a paralytic seizure when he was a child of two or
three years of age that resulted in permanent and severe
twitching in his right-hand.1−3 In early adulthood, he traveled
to Giessen to obtain instruction in experimental chemistry
under the direction of Justus Liebig (1803−1873) and began
his studies on April 24, 1852.4 By successfully incorporating
teaching and research, Matthiessen began to understand the
importance of precision and rigorous quantification in scientific
work. With professors such as Johann Heinrich Buff (1805−
1878) and Heinrich Will (1812−1890) in physics and
chemistry, respectively, Matthiessen began to understand
there the importance of precision and rigorous quantification
in scientific work. After graduating on June 18, 1853,5
Matthiessen spent nearly four years at Heidelberg, where he
was tutored by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811−1899) and
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824−1877). His fellow students at
Giessen and Heidelberg included the chemists Henry Roscoe
(later Sir) (1833−1915), August Dupré (1835−1907), and
Jacob Volhard (1834−1910). Bunsen, with an excellent
scientific reputation and a special focus on practical work,
and Kirchhoff, who combined exceptional mathematical talent
and experimental knowledge, likely had a significant influence
on Matthiessen’s scientific activity and molded his work style.
alkaline-earth metals were not known as “elements” at that
time, and only two common compounds, calcium oxide and
magnesium oxide, were called “alkaline earths” because of their
insolubility in water. Electrolysis had been introduced as a new
field of chemistry by the British scientist Humphrey Davy
(1778−1829) at the beginning of the century. His success in
decomposing water into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen led him
not only to obtain potassium by decomposing a slightly
moistened piece of potash by passing an electrical flow through
it but also to observe that a similar basic procedure that yielded
sodium from soda ash required stronger electric currents. The
migration of salts that Davy observed during electrolysis in an
experimental apparatus equipped with an early voltaic battery
resulted in the decomposition of compounds by electricity and
led him to assume that the force of combination, or chemical
affinity, was an electrical property of the constituent particles of
matter.7 Decades later, Bunsen was involved in electrolytic
research. Bunsen used a carbon electrode instead of the
expensive platinum electrode utilized in Grove’s battery, which
facilitated his research in this field and resulted in his first paper
on the electrolytic preparation of alkaline-earth metals, which
was published in 1854.8
Matthiessen continued Bunsen’s investigation on the
preparation and physical properties of alkali and alkaline-earth
metals. This work has been considered as one of the best

■ ELECTROLYTIC PREPARATION OF
ALKALINE-EARTH METALS
The most well-known aspect of Matthiessen’s work are his
studies on the influence of temperature on the electrical
conductivity of metals and alloys in approximately 1861. His
earlier contributions to chemistry concerning on the prepara-
tion and different properties of certain metals have been often
overlooked. However, these contributions, which had begun
five years before, were the foundation for the later electrical
investigations. His work on both subjects were factors that
contributed to his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in
1861, as shown in the corresponding certificate (Figure 1).6
In the 18th century, any substance not soluble in water and
unaffected by heat was called “earth.” The currently recognized
© XXXX American Chemical Society and
Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
known investigations conducted by Bunsen and his pupils.9
Calcium was Bunsen’s and Matthiessen’s first interest. Davy
was inspired by his own effective isolation of sodium and
potassium and attempted, with some success, the same with
calcium through the decomposition via electric current of either
lime in the presence of mercury or a mixture of wet lime and
mercury oxide.10 The resulting product later proved to be not
the pure metal but a calcium amalgam. Mercury removal was so
difficult a task that Davy himself was doubtful as to whether the
recovered compound was pure calcium. In addition to the
isolation of calcium and the study of procedures, Matthiessen’s
first publication on the subject included a confirmation of
Bunsen’s statement regarding the action of the electric current
A DOI: 10.1021/ed5004993
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Figure 1. Matthiessen’s certificate for election as a Fellow of The Royal Society. (Provided by and reproduced with permission from the Centre for
History of Science, Royal Society.)

density employed in the electrolytic decomposition of metallic
salts.
Although Bunsen successfully electrolyzed calcium chloride
moistened with hydrochloric acid,8 Matthiessen was respon-
sible for isolating calcium with optimum purity by electrolyzing
a mixture of two equivalents of calcium chloride and one of
strontium chloride in the presence of a small quantity of
ammonium chloride (Scheme 1).11
The simple isolation apparatus included a carbon positive
pole placed in a small porcelain melting pot in which the
aforementioned mixture of salts were melted, and a thin
B DOI: 10.1021/ed5004993
Scheme 1. Chemical Reactions in the Isolation of Calcium
harpsichord wire, dipped just under the surface of the melted
salt, that was connected to the zinc of the battery. Color,
specific gravity, atomic volume, specific behaviors upon heating,
and the place of calcium in the electric series were established
by Matthiessen. Although the experimental procedure exhibited
a low yield, the purity of the obtained product was not
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improved until four decades later by Ferdinand Frederick Henri
Moissan (1852−1907).12 By using water as the liquid, which
acted on just one of the metals and was then known as the
“exciting fluid,” Matthiessen was able to identify that calcium
was electropositive to magnesium and electronegative to
sodium and potassium. The proof Matthiessen provided to
explain why calcium could not be obtained by the reduction of
its chloride and the action of these metals at high temperatures
indicated that the products obtained with this process by other
chemists were not calcium. In addition, this explanation became
relevant for understanding related electrochemical procedures.
Similar investigations of three new metals were conducted
over the next few years. First, Matthiessen described an
improved procedure by which strontium pieces weighing half a
gram were obtained using a small melting pot with a porous cell
containing a mixture of strontium and ammonium chlorides.13
A very fine iron wire wound around a thicker wire and covered
with a piece of tobacco-pipe stem served as the negative pole;
an iron cylinder placed in the melting pot and around the cell
served as the positive pole. The metal was then collected under
the crust formed in the cell (Scheme 2).
Scheme 2. Chemical Reactions in the Isolation of Strontium
Additionally, a new preparation of magnesium using a
mineral called carnallite (a mixture of potassium and
magnesium chlorides, MgCl2·KCl·6H2O) was presented. This
method successfully replaced the difficult method originally
used by the French chemist Antoine Bussy (1794−1882) to
obtain anhydrous magnesium chloride 25 years earlier.14 The
anhydrous ore obtained by heating the carnallite in a current of
hydrogen chloride was fused with calcium or sodium chloride
and later electrolyzed following Bunsen’s methodology using
the current of ten zinc−carbon cells for 55 min to yield metallic
magnesium.15 Upon decomposition of potassium chloride, the
following reactions occurred during electrolysis (Scheme 3):
Scheme 3. Chemical Reaction in the Isolation of Magnesium
The second new metal studied was barium,16 a metal that
neither Davy10 nor Bunsen8 was able to isolate from baryta or
barium chloride in the presence of mercury, either with or
without diluted hydrochloric acid. Davy and Bunsen found
similar results: an amalgam, from which barium was obtained as
a silver-white residue, when mercury was separated through a
distillation process. Matthiessen encountered similar difficulties
isolating this metal using electrolytic methods. Although he
separated barium as a finely divided powder, he noted that it
could not be isolated in a pure state using the same basic
isolation procedure previously reported for other metals.
Matthiessen stated that the powder did not melt as a result
of phenomena at chloride’s fusion temperature, such as the
chemical attack of the metal on the pipe-stem and the
simultaneous decomposition of small quantities of alumina and
C DOI: 10.1021/ed5004993
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silica, and formation of baryta. The behavior of barium when
exposed to water and air, as well as the possibility of alloy
formation with platinum as a consequence of the electrolytic
procedure, were some of the properties of this metal studied by
Matthiessen.
Lithium completes the list of these new metals investigated
in their pure state by Matthiessen using electrolytic methods.
Davy17 and Williams Thomas Brande (1788−1866)18 first
attempted to isolate lithium from its molten carbonate and
oxide through electrolysis and were only partially successful;
very small amounts of lithium were obtained. In 1854, Bunsen
and Matthiessen were the first to obtain lithium in quantities
sufficiently large to allow investigation of its properties. The
method included fusing lithium chloride in a porcelain melting
pot and subsequently passing a current through the mixture
from six carbon−zinc cells connected in series (Scheme 4).19
Scheme 4. Chemical Reactions in the Isolation of Lithium
This investigation ended Matthiessen’s activities on the
electrolytic preparation of metals and simultaneously initiated
the next step in his career in physicsspecifically, inves-
tigations of the electrical conductivities and thermoelectric
powers of metals. The practical skills Matthiessen obtained
while working with Bunsen were critical in his new
experimental activities, which were carried out under the
direction of Kirchhoff in Heidelberg. The initial stage, from
1856 to 1857, included recently isolated metals20 and was
followed by studies of tellurium, bismuth, and antimony, as well
as several alloys, later in Matthiessen’s career.21 This successful
investigation, which likely contributed to his first recognition by
the scientific community, led to his election as a Fellow of the
Chemical Society of London on February 18, 1858.22 This
marked the culmination of Matthiessen’s cycle abroad and his
return to his homeland, where he remained almost unin-
terruptedly from that point forward.
■ ALKALOID CHEMISTRY
After his return to England, Matthiessen devoted himself to
studies in organic chemistry to complement his thorough
knowledge of methods in inorganic chemistry and physics, and
he worked for a short time at the Royal College of Chemistry,
then under the direction of August Wilhelm von Hofmann
(1818−1892). Matthiessen’s new mentor, as well as the newly
opened field of knowledge, very likely influenced his work, at
least initially, in new areas. His initial activities at the Royal
College of Chemistry could have gone unnoticed if not for a
particular investigation of the chemical action of nitrous acid on
aniline. After Hofmann’s isolation of aniline from coal tar in
1845, it became the central subject of investigation at the Royal
College.23 One report by the American geologist and chemist
Thomas Sterry Hunt (1826−1892) reported phenol, free
nitrogen, and water as the products of the aforementioned
reaction.24 The short account Matthiessen published about
aniline described an intermediate reaction, which was initially
determined to result in the formation of ammonia; later, the
reaction was applied to ethyl and diethylaniline to produce
ethylamine and diethylamine.25 This relatively small study
opened a new direction for Matthiessen’s studies on the
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chemistry of opium bases, particularly narcotine. Matthiessen Scheme 5. Opianic Acid and Cotarnine from Narcotine
was initially close to the discovery of the first diazonium
compounds, which were first reported and prepared in 1858 by
the German organic chemist Johann Peter Griess (1829−
1888)26 by treating aniline and other aromatic amines with
nitrous acid.27 These reactions would later become the basis of
one of the most important processes in the synthetic dye
industry.
A number of studies on opiates had been completed by the
beginning of the 19th century, largely due to their clinical
applications and the necessity of adequately understanding their
complex structures in order to develop low-cost processes for
their procurement in the greatest-possible purity.28 By the
1850s, approximately 25 alkaloids contained in raw opium had
been identified. The properties of narcotine, the second most
abundant alkaloid in the poppy, with an approximate average
content between 0.7 to 6.4%, prompted further investigation With respect to opianic acid, Matthiessen and Foster
into the compound itself and into the numerous derivatives it identified its correct formula and properties, including its
was known to yield when subjected to different chemical degradation into meconine (C10H10O4) and hemipinic acid
reagents. Alkaloids were extraordinarily challenging subjects for (C10H10O6), which is induced by heating with concentrated
the emerging practice of quantitative organic analysis, and potash (Scheme 6).
chemists pursued their analysis to understand the general
features of their composition. Scheme 6. Meconine and Hemipinic Acid from Opianic Acid
Although narcotine had been extracted by the French
chemist and pharmacist Charles Louis Derosne (1774−1855)
in 180329 and its isolation and classification as a vegetable
alkaloid had been confirmed by Pierre Jean Robiquet (1780−
1840) 14 years later,30 its constitution and the products derived
from it had not been fully elucidated by the middle of the 19th
century. Agreement on the relative proportions of its
constituents existed; however, independent analyses of
narcotine performed by Liebig,31 Dumas and Pelletier,32,33
and Regnault34 resulted in different molecular formulas,
primarily because of the group of atomic weights accepted by
each scientist. The first adopted formula for narcotine was
C46H25NO14, proposed in 1844 by the physician J. Blyth,35
which agreed with the most trustworthy results of previous
investigators, such as those of the German chemist Friedrich
Wohler (1800−1882).36 In addition, this formula adequately
accounted for the formation of the decomposition products
known at the time. Later studies conducted by Theodor
Wertheim (1820−1864)37 supported the existence of two
additional varieties of the compound, C44H23NO14 and Upon gentle heating of cotarnine with nitric acid, a new
C48H27NO14, which would become homologous with that compound, cotarnic acid (C10H8O7), was obtained (Scheme 7).
reported by Blyth (i.e., where an atomic weight of C = 6 was In the late 19th century a well-ordered and stable chemical
used for carbon). A fourth variety, represented by the formula taxonomy did not exist in quantitative organic analysis
C42H21NO14, was considered in a similar manner by the
apothecary F. Hinterberger.38 Scheme 7. Oxidation of Cotarnine
Therefore, Matthiessen, now working in his private
consulting laboratory, began to investigate the chemical nature
of narcotine to understand the variety of proposed
compositions and to establish the definitive formula, or
formulas, associated with the alkaloid. The first stage of the
investigation, performed jointly with George Carey Foster
(1835−1919),39 established the formula for narcotine that is
currently accepted by the chemical community, C22H23NO7.40
The remaining work was devoted to the study and discussion
of the chemical reactions that yielded opianic acid (C10H10O5)
and cotarnine (C12H15NO4), which result from narcotine
oxidation through heating with manganese dioxide and sulfuric
acid. The initial chemical reaction involving these three
compounds is shown in Scheme 5.
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Figure 2. Liebig’s combustion assembly, which is similar to that used by Matthiessen; the kaliapparat is shown on the right. Reprinted with
permission from Wiley-VCH (ref 42).
compared to the established experimental methods in inorganic
chemistry; however, it was slowly evolving. The old, slow, and
unreliable methods available at the beginning of the century,
which scarcely allowed the separation of mixtures of related
substances, involved procedures that often resulted in
significant chemical alterations, and which produced misleading
results, were replaced decades later by fast, simple, and precise
techniques that laid the foundation for elemental organic
analyses. A chemist’s glassblowing skills during the early
decades of the century stand out, among other factors, as
responsible for the creation of the novel glassware that was
required for the implementation of new methods and was
essential to later organic chemists’ development of constructive
syntheses.41 These techniques were mainly introduced by two
men, Justus von Liebig (later Baron) (1803−1873) of Germany
and Jean-Baptiste-André Dumas (1800−1884) of France, in the
1830s.
In Liebig’s standardized method of combustion, a packing of
copper oxide was heated, and the sample was slowly vaporized
under a current of air or oxygen, which passed through a piece
of hollow glassware shaped like a triangle with five bulbs
(kaliapparat) that was specially designed for this purpose
(Figure 2).42 The gravimetric measurement of carbon and
hydrogen was performed by weighing the carbon dioxide and
water that resulted from combustion and that were absorbed
into a caustic potash solution and calcium chloride, respectively.
Volumetric measurement of nitrogen was unsuccessful, despite
Liebig’s efforts to improve it. Liebig’s lack of success was likely
due to the oxidizing conditions, which ensured the complete
conversion of carbon to carbon dioxide during the combustion
but which also oxidized the nitrogen. Armed with a good
analytical balance, carbon and hydrogen analyses were
completed using a 0.5 g sample with an accuracy of 1−2% in
approximately 1 h, whereas the volumetric determination of
nitrogen was typically accurate to within 10%. Dumas improved
nitrogen measurement by substituting the carbon dioxide
generated by heating lead carbonate in an extension of the
combustion tube for the flow of air and by using an eudiometer
tube filled with alkali hydroxide to collect the gases, thus
eliminating the need for the separate absorption of carbon
dioxide.43 The carbon dioxide flushed out the residual air and
was absorbed by the potash with the water vapor from the
sample, theoretically leaving the nitrogen unaltered. The
determination of the oxygen content, another common element
of organic compounds, was another challenge that was solved
by calculating the difference after the amounts of other
elements had been determined.
Matthiessen did not clearly report the experimental
procedures he followed to determine the elemental composi-
tion of the different compounds. However, historians have
concluded that the aforementioned techniques were a common
E DOI: 10.1021/ed5004993
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procedure in European chemical laboratories by the 1850s and
remained in use during the rest of the 19th century, with only
minor improvements in the design and heating methods.
Furthermore, current methods used in specialized commercial
laboratories regarding macrodeterminations are still fundamen-
tally the same as those of Liebig and Dumas.44 Accordingly, and
considering Matthiessen’s German educational background, it is
likely that Matthiessen also followed these experimental
procedures.
The graphical structure diagrams in the Schemes 5 to 14,
which are presented here for educational purposes, correspond
to those known today but were not known until years after
Matthiessen’s time of study. The first half of the 19th century
was primarily devoted to determining the composition of
chemical compounds, especially organic compounds, through
formulas rather than chemical structures. Cooke recently stated
that “it was not possible using the symbolism of the time to
represent them [chemical compounds] such that any significant
structural meaning was conveyed, if indeed any clear idea of the
structure was known.”45 The development of the concept of
valence by the middle of the 19th century, which would not be
finalized until the distinction between equivalent, atomic, and
molecular weights was established, delayed the use of structural
diagrams as a means of representing compounds. Other facts
also prevented the use of chemical structures. The lack of
uniformity in graphical representations was one of the most
important limitations. Drawings based on Dalton’s symbols,
atomic symbol notation using circles containing the initial
letters of atom names, and different color croquet balls
representing atoms with arms representing units of attraction
were only some of the different notations used to represent the
first graphical chemical structures in the 1850s and 1860s.
Bonds between atoms were interchangeably represented by
continuous lines, dotted lines, or two lines separated by a dot.
Combinations of circles mixed with ring structures were used to
represent aromatic compounds. Generic groups to represent
radicals, halogens, or metals were not used until approximately
1880, and the three-dimensional nature of structures was not
understood until the last two decades of the 19th century.
Furthermore, the representation and communication of
information within the chemical community was hindered by
typographical limitations in printing structural diagrams
because of the complexity of the symbols used for early
representations of atoms. In most cases, only the reader’s ability
allowed him to translate the names and formulas into structures
either mentally or on paper. Therefore, patents and volumes of
scientific publications in chemistry lacked structural diagrams
before 1870, and the chemistry community, which was not
accustomed to seeing structures in print, used linear empirical
formulas at the close of the century.
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Matthiessen’s investigations between 1860 and 1862 yielded
hypogallic acid (C7H6O4) (Scheme 8) and methylhypogallic
acid (C8H8O4) (Scheme 9) via the reaction of hemipinic acid
with hydroiodic acid or hydrochloric acid, respectively.46
Scheme 8. Hypogallic Acid from Hemipinic Acid
Scheme 9. Methylhypogallic Acid from Hemipinic Acid
Five years later, Matthiessen and Foster focused their
investigations on the combined action of heating and an excess
of concentrated hydrochloric or hydroiodic acid on narcotine,
opianic acid, and meconine. Different homologous compounds
were prepared by the successive elimination of one, two, or
three methyl groups from the original compound.47,48 The
following sequence of reactions (Scheme 10) summarizes the
process (for the case of hydrochloric acid) using the established
chemical structures.
The heating of opianic acid or meconine, separately, at 100
or 110 °C with concentrated hydrochloric or hydroiodic acid
yielded two new acids, methyl nor-opianic acid (C9H8O5) and
Scheme 10. Demethylation of Narcotine
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methyl nor-meconic acid, or methyl nor-meconine, (C9H8O4),
respectively, from the first step, and subsequently nor-opianic
acid and nor-meconine (Schemes 11 and 12).48
The use of the prefix “nor” by Matthiessen and Foster for
these new products is the first reported example of its use in
organic chemistry nomenclature to identify demethylated
compounds. This rule in nomenclature was later generalized
to denote the replacement of one or more methyl groups by a
hydrogen or the removal of an ethyl group from a carbon
chain.49
Later studies conducted jointly by Matthiessen and his new
assistant, Charles Romley Alder Wright (1844−1894),50
examined the action of concentrated hydrochloric acid on
two alkaloids: morphine (Scheme 13) and codeine (Scheme
14). These studies led to the discovery of apomorphine
(C17H17O2N), an agent that, although differing from morphine
by only one equivalent of water, exhibited substantial
differences from it.
Apomorphine quickly became one of the most powerful and
valuable emetics available and a valuable adjunct in medical
practice.51 Simultaneously, Matthiessen and Wright reported
the production of apomorphine from codeine in two steps.
First, a derivate they called chlorocodide was formed, which
decomposed into methyl chloride and apomorphine upon
heating with hydrochloric acid at 150 °C.52
Wright continued to work on this topic in the four years
following Matthiessen’s death and published nine additional
reports on the derivatives of these alkaloids.
■
CHEMISTRY AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE STANDARDS
Two other notable chemical studies by Matthiessen include his
theory concerning the chemical nature of alloys and his
preparation of specific metals of high purity. Matthiessen’s
interest in alloys emerged as a result of two personal
circumstances: first, his investigations into both the electrical
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Scheme 11. Demethylation of Opianic Acid
Scheme 12. Demethylation of Meconine
Scheme 13. Apomorphine from Morphine
Scheme 14. Apomorphine from Codeine
conductivities of materials and the influence of other
compounds on the magnitude of the conductivity of pure
metals,53 and second, the preference he had for using alloys
over pure metals because of the optimal physical properties of
certain alloys54 Some alloys were being used successfully at the
time, and Matthiessen understood that the limited information
available about their behavior needed to be expanded. As a
result, over a period of several years, he reported specific
properties, such as the specific gravity, thermal expansion,
electrical conductivity, and chemical activity, for both pure
metals and alloys.55 The first reports concerned copper, likely
because of the necessity of its purity for conducting electricity
and the importance of its use as wires in telegraphy and related
applications. Matthiessen concluded that the discrepancies
G DOI: 10.1021/ed5004993
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observed among several published measurements for the
magnitude of copper’s electrical conductivity were due to the
presence of minute quantities of other elements. A full report
on this subject was presented in 1860 to the Committee
appointed by Government to investigate the construction of
submarine telegraph cables; this report was later published in a
scientific journal.56
From a theoretical perspective, Matthiessen’s most important
conclusions were directly associated with the chemical nature of
alloys. In addition to identifying remarkable differences in the
behavior of alloys of some metals, such as lead, tin, zinc, and
cadmium, compared with others, Matthiessen posed two
important and general considerations.57 The first consideration
implied that the presence of small amounts of impurities in a
metal was responsible for significant changes in the metal’s
physical properties as well as in its allotropic state. The second
consideration addressed the chemical nature of alloys and
established that they could be either mixtures of chemical
substances with an excess of one metal or solutions of a
particular alloy with an excess of one of the metals, which form,
in their solid condition, what Matthiessen termed a “solidified
solution.” This latter consideration became a useful theory that
led to numerous developments related to alloys.
Between 1864 and 1869, Matthiessen was the Head of a
Committee sponsored by the British Association for the
Advancement of Science to study the true chemical nature of
pure cast-iron and the influence of commonly associated
elements on its physical properties. The committee included
Frederick Augustus Abel (later Sir) (1827−1902) and David
Forbes (1828−1876) and, with the assistance of S. Prus-
Szczepanowski, evaluated different techniques to prepare cast
iron and obtained nearly pure iron (free from silicon, calcium,
and phosphorus, and with only a trace of sulfur) from ferrous
sulfate.58
Matthiessen’s work on the physical and electrical properties
of metals and alloys earned him the Royal Medal from the
Royal Society in 1869, which identified this work as one of “the
two most important contributions to the advancement of
natural knowledge” in chemistry. Shortly thereafter, Matthies-
sen committed suicide by poisoning himself on October 6,
1870 with prussic acid while under severe nervous strain, thus
ending his short scientific career.
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■
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Matthiessen has been unjustly ignored by historians of science.
He was characterized by perseverance, an acute power of
observation, a distinct power of generalization, and a marked
degree of manipulative skill, despite his physical limitations. A
critical examination into the 28 memoirs he published during
the 15 years that compose his scientific career, more than half
of them in chemistry, reflects a great fondness for experimental
inquiry, an obsession with accuracy, and a sound choice of
worthy subjects for study, according to the scientific and
technical requirements of his times. In addition, he often
utilized the most direct means for investigating these subjects.
Although his investigations on the properties of pure metals
and alloys had immediate practical applications, his inves-
tigations on alkaloids, specifically the studies with Foster,
represented a great and definitive advancement of the
knowledge regarding these substances. The establishment of
unique and definitive formulas for the alkaloids and the
products obtained from their decomposition contributed to a
coherent nomenclature in organic chemistry and the sub-
sequent resolution of a long scientific dispute on the subject.
Additionally, this work facilitated the later successful
applications of these substances in numerous physiological
and pharmacological investigations.
■
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail: simon.reif@correounivalle.edu.co.
Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
■
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank Joanna Hopkins, the Picture Curator of the Centre for
History of Science at the Royal Society, for kindly authorizing
inclusion of Matthiessen’s Certificate of Election as a Fellow of
that Institution; Eva-Marie Felschow, from the Archives of the
University of Giessen, for historical information about
Matthiessen’s time as a student there; and the anonymous
reviewers of this paper for their precise and helpful comments
and suggestions.
■
REFERENCES
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(2) Augustus Matthiessen. Chem. News J. Phys. Sci. 1870, 22,
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(3) Augustus Matthiessen. Nature (London, U.K.) 1870, 2, 517−518.
(4) Felschow, E.-M. Justus Liebig University Giessen. Personal
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(5) Kössler, F. Verzeichnis der Doktorpromotionen an der Universität
Giessen von 1801−1884; Giessen Universitätsbibliothek: Giessen,
1970; p 65.
(6) Archives of the Royal Society of London.
(7) Davy, H. On some chemical agencies of electricity. Philos. Trans.
R. Soc. London 1807, 97, 1−56; On some new phenomena of chemical
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I DOI: 10.1021/ed5004993
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