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Gilbert N. Lewis
Gilbert N. Lewis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 23, 1875 or October 25, 1875 |
| Died | March 23, 1946 (aged 70) |
| Known for | Lewis pair Lewis structures Lewis acids and bases Lewis–Tolman paradox Chemical thermodynamics Valence bond theory Covalent bond Cubical atom Fugacity Heavy water Ionic strength Octet rule Tetraoxygen Thermodynamic activity Named photon Explained phosphorescence |
| Awards | Fellow of the Royal Society[1] William H. Nichols Medal (1921) Willard Gibbs Award (1924) Davy Medal (1929) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physical chemist |
| Thesis | A general equation for free energy and physico-chemical equilibrium, and its application (1899) |
| Doctoral advisor | Theodore William Richards |
| Doctoral students | Michael Kasha Harold Urey Glenn T. Seaborg Joseph Edward Mayer |
Gilbert Newton Lewis ForMemRS[1] (October 23[2][3][4] or October 25, 1875 – March 23, 1946)[1][5][6] was an American physical chemist and a dean of the college of chemistry at University of California, Berkeley.[3][7] Lewis was best known for his discovery of the covalent bond and his concept of electron pairs; his Lewis dot structures and other contributions to valence bond theory have shaped modern theories of chemical bonding. Lewis successfully contributed to chemical thermodynamics, photochemistry, and isotope separation, and is also known for his concept of acids and bases.[8] Lewis also researched on relativity and quantum physics, and in 1926 he coined the term "photon" for the smallest unit of radiant energy.[9][10]
G. N. Lewis was born in 1875 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. After receiving his PhD in chemistry from Harvard University and studying abroad in Germany and the Philippines, Lewis moved to California in 1912 to teach chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, where he became the dean of the college of chemistry and spent the rest of his life.[3][11] As a professor, he incorporated thermodynamic principles into the chemistry curriculum and reformed chemical thermodynamics in a mathematically rigorous manner accessible to ordinary chemists. He began measuring the free energy values related to several chemical processes, both organic and inorganic. In 1916, he also proposed his theory of bonding and added information about electrons in the periodic table of the chemical elements. In 1933, he started his research on isotope separation. Lewis worked with hydrogen and managed to purify a sample of heavy water. He then came up with his theory of acids and bases, and did work in photochemistry during the last years of his life.
Though he was nominated 41 times, G. N. Lewis never won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, resulting in a major Nobel Prize controversy.[12][4][13][14][15] On the other hand, Lewis mentored and influenced numerous Nobel laureates at Berkeley including Harold Urey (1934 Nobel Prize), William F. Giauque (1949 Nobel Prize), Glenn T. Seaborg (1951 Nobel Prize), Willard Libby (1960 Nobel Prize), Melvin Calvin (1961 Nobel Prize) and so on, turning Berkeley into one of the world's most prestigious centers for chemistry.[16][17][18][19][20] On March 23, 1946, Lewis was found dead in his Berkeley laboratory where he had been working with hydrogen cyanide; many postulated that the cause of his death was suicide.[13] After Lewis' death, his children followed their father's career in chemistry, and the Lewis Hall on the Berkeley campus is named after him.[11]
- ^ a b c Hildebrand, J. H. (1947). "Gilbert Newton Lewis. 1875-1946". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 5 (15): 491–506. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1947.0014.
- ^ Jensen, William B. (March 19, 2021). "Gilbert N. Lewis, American chemist". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ^ a b c "University of California: In Memoriam, 1946". texts.cdlib.org. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ a b "Gilbert N. Lewis". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ GILBERT NEWTON LEWIS 1875—1946 A Biographical Memoir by Joel H. Hildebrand National Academy of Sciences 1958
- ^ Lewis, Gilbert Newton R. E. Kohler in Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography (Encyclopedia.com)
- ^ "Gilman Hall University of California, Berkeley - National Historic Chemical Landmark". American Chemical Society. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ Davey, Stephen (2009). "The legacy of Lewis". Nature Chemistry. 1 (1): 19. Bibcode:2009NatCh...1...19D. doi:10.1038/nchem.149. ISSN 1755-4330.
- ^ "December 18, 1926: Gilbert Lewis coins "photon" in letter to Nature". APS News: This Month in Physics History. American Physical Society. December 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:9was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Nomination Database Gilbert N. Lewis". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- ^ a b DelVecchio, Rick; Writer, Chronicle Staff (August 5, 2006). "WHAT KILLED FAMED CAL CHEMIST? / 20th century pioneer who failed to win a Nobel Prize may have succumbed to a broken heart, one admirer theorizes". SFGate. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "December 18, 1926: Gilbert Lewis coins "photon" in letter to Nature". www.aps.org. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ Jensen, William B. (October 5, 2017). "The Mystery of G. N. Lewis's Missing Nobel Prize. The Posthumous Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Volume 1. Correcting the Errors and Oversights of the Nobel Prize Committee". ACS Symposium Series. American Chemical Society: 107–120. doi:10.1021/bk-2017-1262.ch006.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:6was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:7was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:8was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Harris, Reviewed By Harold H. (November 1, 1999). "A Biography of Distinguished Scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis (by Edward S. Lewis)". Journal of Chemical Education. 76 (11): 1487. Bibcode:1999JChEd..76.1487H. doi:10.1021/ed076p1487. ISSN 0021-9584.
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