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August Kekulé

Born

in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Germany

September 07, 1829

Died

July 13, 1896

Website

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Kekul%C3%A9

Genre

Science, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry

Influences

Alexander William Williamson, August Wilhelm von Hofmann, Jacobus Henr ...more

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Friedrich August Kekulé, later Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz (German pronunciation: [ˈfriːdrɪç ˈaʊɡʊst ˈkekuːle fɔn ʃtraˈdoːnɪts]) (7 September 1829 – 13 July 1896) was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekule was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially in theoretical chemistry. He was the principal founder of the theory of chemical structure.

In 1856 Kekulé became Privatdozent at the University of Heidelberg. In 1858 he was hired as full professor at the University of Ghent, then in 1867 he was called to Bonn, where he remained for the rest of his career. Basing his ideas on those of predecessors such as Alexander William Williamson, Edward Frankland, William Odling, Auguste Laurent,Charles- Friedrich August Kekulé, later Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz (German pronunciation: [ˈfriːdrɪç ˈaʊɡʊst ˈkekuːle fɔn ʃtraˈdoːnɪts]) (7 September 1829 – 13 July 1896) was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekule was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially in theoretical chemistry. He was the principal founder of the theory of chemical structure.

In 1856 Kekulé became Privatdozent at the University of Heidelberg. In 1858 he was hired as full professor at the University of Ghent, then in 1867 he was called to Bonn, where he remained for the rest of his career. Basing his ideas on those of predecessors such as Alexander William Williamson, Edward Frankland, William Odling, Auguste Laurent,Charles-Adolphe Wurtz and others, Kekulé was the principal formulator of the theory of chemical structure (1857–58). This theory proceeds from the idea of atomic valence, especially the tetravalence of carbon (which Kekulé announced late in 1857) and the ability of carbon atoms to link to each other (announced in a paper published in May 1858), to the determination of the bonding order of all of the atoms in a molecule. Archibald Scott Couper independently arrived at the idea of self-linking of carbon atoms (his paper appeared in June 1858), and provided the first molecular formulas where lines symbolize bonds connecting the atoms.

For organic chemists, the theory of structure provided dramatic new clarity of understanding, and a reliable guide to both analytic and especially synthetic work. As a consequence, the field of organic chemistry developed explosively from this point. Among those who were most active in pursuing early structural investigations were, in addition to Kekulé and Couper, Frankland, Wurtz, Alexander Crum Brown, Emil Erlenmeyer, and Aleksandr Mikhailovich Butlerov.

Kekulé's idea of assigning certain atoms to certain positions within the molecule, and schematically connecting them using what he called their "Verwandtschaftseinheiten" ("affinity units", now called "valences" or "bonds"), was based largely on evidence from chemical reactions, rather than on instrumental methods that could peer directly into the molecule, such as X-ray crystallography. Such physical methods of structural determination had not yet been developed, so chemists of Kekulé's day had to rely almost entirely on so-called "wet" chemistry. Some chemists, notably Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, heavily criticized the use of structural formulas that were offered, as he thought, without proof. However, most chemists followed Kekulé's lead in pursuing and developing what some have called "classical" structure theory, which was modified after the discovery of electrons (1897) and the development of quantum mechanics (in the 1920s).

The idea that the number of valences of a given element was invariant was a key component of Kekulé's version of structural chemistry. This generalization suffered from many exceptions, and was subsequently replaced by the suggestion that valences were fixed at certain oxidation states. For example, periodic acid according to Kekuléan structure theory could be represented by the chain structure I-O-O-O-O-H. By contrast, the modern structure of (meta) periodic acid has all four oxygen atoms surrounding the iodine in a tetrahedral geometry.

In 1895 Kekulé was ennobled by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, giving him the right to add "von Stradonitz" to his name, referring to a possession of his patrilineal ancestors in Stradonice, Bohemia. This title was also used by his son, the genealogist Stephan Kekulé von Stradonitz.

Of the first five Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, Kekulé's students won three: Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff in 1901, Hermann Emil Fischer in 1902 and Adolf von Baeyer in 1905.

A larger-than-life size monument of Kekulé is situated in front of the former Chemical Institute at the University o ...more

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August Kekulé’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 4 ratings · 0 reviews · 30 distinct works

	Über die Konstitution und die Metamorphosen der chemischen Verbindungen und über die chemische Natur des Kohlenstoffs. Untersuchungen über aromatische Verbindungen 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Die Wissenschaftlichen Ziele und Leistungen der Chemie (Classic Reprint) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Über die Konstitution und die Metamorphosen der Chemischen Verbindungen und Über die Chemische Natur des Kohlenstoffs: Untersuchungen Über Aromatische Verbindungen (Classic Reprint) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Über die Konstitution und die Metamorphosen der Chemischen Verbindungen und Über die Chemische Natur des Kohlenstoffs: Untersuchungen Über Aromatische Verbindungen (Classic Reprint) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie, Vol. 2: Erste Lieferung (Classic Reprint) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lehrbuch Der Organischen Chemie, Oder, Der Chemie Der Kohlenstoffverbindungen, Volume 2, part 1 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chemie der Benzolderivate oder der Aromatischen Substanzen. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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	Lehrbuch der organischen Chemie oder der Chemie der Kohlenstoffverbindungen. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lehrbuch der organischen Chemie oder der Chemie der Kohlenstoffverbindungen. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by August Kekulé…

Quotes by August Kekulé (?)

“Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, then perhaps we shall find the truth”
― August Kekulé

tags: chemistry, organic-chemistry, science

15 likes

“During my stay in London I resided for a considerable time in Clapham Road in the neighbourhood of Clapham Common... One fine summer evening I was returning by the last bus 'outside' as usual, through the deserted streets of the city, which are at other times so full of life. I fell into a reverie (Träumerei), and 10, the atoms were gambolling before my eyes! Whenever, hitherto, these diminutive beings had appeared to me, they had always been in motion: but up to that time I had never been able to discern the nature of their motion. Now, however, I saw how, frequently, two smaller atoms united to form a pair: how the larger one embraced the two smaller ones: how still larger ones kept hold of three or even four of the smaller: whilst the whole kept whirling in a giddy dance. I saw how the larger ones formed a chain, dragging the smaller ones after them but only at the ends of the chain. I saw what our past master, Kopp, my highly honoured teacher and friend has depicted with such charm in his Molekular-Welt: but I saw it long before him. The cry of the conductor 'Clapham Road', awakened me from my dreaming: but I spent part of the night in putting on paper at least sketches of these dream forms. This was the origin of the 'Structural Theory'.”
― August Kekule

tags: atoms, conductor, hermann-franz-moritz-kopp, kopp, life, london, master, physics, science, street, structural-theory, summer

4 likes

“Originally a pupil of Liebig, I became a pupil of Dumas, Gerhardt and Williamson: I no longer belonged to any school.”
― August Kekule

tags: alexander-william-williamson, charles-frédéric-gerhardt, charles-gerhardt, dumas, gerhardt, jean-baptiste-andré-dumas, jean-baptiste-dumas, justus-von-liebig, liebig, pupil, school, science, william-williamson, williamson

2 likes

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August Kekulé’s Followers (6)

August Kekulé

Combine EditionsAugust Kekulé’s books

Combine Editions
August Kekulé’s books