he had never failed to avail himself of the credit which his high position in science had given him with an enlightened government, and even of the friendship of a well-informed King*, to render innumerable services to studious youth, to savants less fortunate than himself, to a multitude of persons whom he recog nized as worthy of his countenance. Had his characteristic modesty not equaled his other merits, he also might have adopted the boast ascribed by a poet to his hero:

Some little good I've done-it is my noblest work.

* Prince Christian of Denmark, who reigned afterward under the title of Christian VIII, was an eminent mineralogist and deeply versed in many parts of the sciences.

NOTICE OF CHRISTIAN FREDERIC SCHOENBEIN, THE DISCOVERER OF

OZONE.

Translated for the Smithsonian Institution, from the "Archives des Sciences Physiques et naturelles," Geneva

The death of C. F. Schoenbein has sent a pang of regret not only through Switzerland but through the scientific world. We cannot better fulfil the painful duty of reviewing the life of this eminent man than by borrowing the following pages from a notice published in the Basle Nachrichten, for which we are probably indebted to the pen of Professor Hagenbach:

The mortal remains of Christian Frederic Schoenbein have been carried to their last resting place. He has been so suddenly arrested in a life full of activity, so abruptly called away, that we can hardly realize he has ceased to be among These pages which we now consecrate to his memory can only faintly express the sentiments awakened in us by the loss of one so much beloved and so much mourned. The complete appreciation of his scientific career cannot be given in a few rapid sketches.

us.

Schoenbein was born the 18th of October, 1799, at Metzingen, Suabia. From his parents he received a limited, though religious, education. He left the paternal roof at the early age of 14, in order to enter an establishment for the manufactory of chemicals; but a mere practical career could not satisfy his aspirations; the occupation only awakened in his youthful mind an ardent desire for the more elevated science of chemistry. He commenced the study of Latin, and went to the universities of Tübingen and Erlangen. After he had finished his studies at the universities, he taught chemistry and physics in a school at Keihan, near Rudolstadt. Afterwards, he pursued his scientific education in England and in France, and at length, in 1828, went to Basle, where he was installed as lecturer on physics and chemistry. This office was formerly intrusted to Counsellor Merian, who still continues his active career among us. An attack of illness obliged him to discontinue this course of instruction, by which he had rekindled the love of those sciences which of old were so brilliantly represented at Basle by such men as James and Daniel Bernoulli.

In 1835 Schoenbein was elected full professor of physics and chemistry in the University of Basle, and discharged the duties of this position without interruption until 1852, when the professorship was divided into two distinct chairs, he retaining that of chemistry and continuing in it until the time of his death. Thus, Schoenbein has been connected with our university nearly 40 years, and has never, except temporarily, during that period quitted Basle; his two longest journeys, the one to England the other to Germany, are well known from the accounts of them which he has published, and to which the mingling of serious and humorous observations with scientific reflections and sketches of personal adventures give a peculiar charm.

Schoenbein was married in the year 1835, but the tranquil happiness which he found in domestic life was unfortunately disturbed by the sudden death of his eldest daughter in 1859, an event which sadly afflicted his entire household.

His energies were unreservedly consecrated to science, and he always remained faithful to the counsels of his master, the celebrated Schelling, who taught him to regard her as his bride. Thus all his faculties, all his efforts were continually exerted to draw nearer each day to scientific truth, and to penetrate ever more profoundly into the mysteries of the forces which govern the changes of the

material universe. He worked with ardor and an indefatigable perseverance, and all the time he could command was employed in his experiments; even the short wintry days found him at early morn in his laboratory. When astonishment was expressed that one of his advanced age should be so eager in the pursuit of science, he was wont to say, with a smile, that he knew "there remained for him but little time in which to work, and that there was still much flax upon his distaff."

He preserved to the end all the freshness of his faculties as well as the juvenile enthusiasm with which from the first he had made known his discoveries to his colleagues and to the scientific world.

Among the works of Schoenbein we may first mention those which relate to subjects which are neither entirely physical nor entirely chemical, but which rather appertain to both, such as his researches upon the passivity of iron and of other metals; the changes of color of bodies under the influence of temperature; the chemical action of luminous rays, and finally the theory of voltaic electricity. In this latter domain he has thrown much light upon the well-known controversy relative to the theory of contact and chemical action; in studying with impartiality the two opposite opinions, and in demonstrating wherein they were faulty He ascribes the origin of voltaic electricity to chemical action, although he showed a positive difference between the electricity developed in the open current of the battery and that which produces the current and the chemical decomposition which are manifested when the current is closed.

His researches on the voltaic current date from 1836 to 1840; since that epoch his views relative to the source of the voltaic current have become gradually adopted by physicists in general. In 1839, while in England at the meeting of the British Association, he made the personal acquaintance of the celebrated English lawyer and physicist, Grove, who presented at the session a small voltaic battery, of which the cells were constructed of the bowls of tobacco pipes; this was the first exhibition of the celebrated constant battery which bears the name of its inventor. As Schoenbein had been engaged on a similar investigation, we soon see the two physicists pursuing the same object. They planned one of these batteries of large size, and thus produced an apparatus which, in proportion to its dimensions, exhibited an unusual electro-motive force. This first large constant battery is still preserved in the Museum of Physics at Basle, a souvenir of Schoenbein and of Heussler, a friend of science brought up among us, who bore the expense of its construction and gave it to our academy. The possession of this apparatus gave to Schoenbein a fresh incentive to resume with new energy his researches upon the relations of electric and chemical forces. Thanks to this battery it became possible to decompose water into its elements in greater quantities than had ever before been done; it was during an experiment of this kind that, in the autumn of 1839, he perceived a peculiar odor from the oxygen obtained by the decomposition of water similar to that produced when a large electrical machine is in active operation, or when a discharge of lightning takes place between a cloud and the earth. This odor he at first attributed to a new substance mixed in small quantities with the oxygen, and as this body ought to have a special name, after consulting with his colleague, M. W. Kischer, he gave it that of ozone.

His first publication of the discovery of ozone excited but little attention in the scientific world. But nowise disheartened by this, he continued his investigations with a persistency only to be met with among those who are thoroughly possessed with a subject. He pursued during 29 years, or what may be considered the active life of a man, the same end, the study of the chemical properties of oxygen; a labor which, though it might appear to lead to no valuable results, is really connected with the properties of one of the most important elements of our globe. In consequence of his own researches and those of other physicists, Schoenbein was soon forced to renounce the idea that ozone was an elementary substance, and

to recognize in it a peculiar condition of oxygen in which it is endowed with special properties.

We cannot here enumerate the many discoveries connected with this subject, and still less retrace the important steps that have been made in the domain of chemistry and of physiology in connection with it; we must limit ourselves to the remark that Schoenbein has contributed much to enlarge the field of science in this direction, and as the names of Priestley, Scheele, and Lavoisier are mentioned in connection with the early discoveries relative to oxygen, so the name of Schoenbein will always be recalled when we speak of the new form under which this element appears, and the varied action, when thus changed, it produces upon organic and inorganic bodies.

Among the discoveries which have rendered Schoenbein known, even beyond the scientific world, we must mention that of gun-cotton. This substance was not doomed merely to administer to the malevolent passions of men, and to play a destructive part in war, as its name would seem to indicate; the subsequent discovery of Schoenbein gave it functions of a more pacific character; a solution of gun-cotton in ether forms collodion, an admirable dressing for wounds, and a precious ingredient in the art of photography. The first application of collodion as a medicinal agent was made at the instance of Schoenbein by his friend, Dr. Jung, of Basle.

The tardiness that Schoenbein found in the acceptance of his ideas on their first presentation was afterwards fully compensated by the approbation they received from all parts of the scientific world. The most distinguished philosophers of Germany, of France, and of England adopted essentially by his views, and several learned societies, among others the academies of France and Munich, elected him a corresponding member.

His manner of working deserves to be noticed. However important the results at which he arrived, the means that he employed for obtaining them were extremely simple. There is no doubt that the great progress made in modern times in the construction of apparatus and instruments of research has had an important influence on the development of science, but the investigations of Schoenbein show us what can be effected, at least in some lives, without the aid of costly appliances. Schoenbein was so much occupied with his special researches that it is not surprising he did not keep entirely posted up in the general progress of chemistry. Though he by no means confined himself exclusively to the special objects of his investigations, yet he could not give to other branches that study which was necessary to render them fully appreciated. He did not adopt the views and the methods of the leading chemists of this day; he often compared the production of the varied combinations of the same elements with the rotation of a kaleidoscope, giving constantly new images, doubtless amusing, but not very instructive. He also frequently compared chemical phenomena to a theatrical exhibition, in which many regard only the denouement of the last act, while it is often in the development of the drama that the most interesting truths are exhibited. In the judgment which he formed of the ideas of other philosophers, Schoenbein may have been at times somewhat prejudiced. The vivacity of his mind often presented to him in too strong a light the defects in the conceptions of others, while the preoccupation of his thoughts with his own ideas left him no time to reflect upon them with calmness and impartiality.

His peculiarity as a professor will remain as a precious souvenir to many. It follows, from what we have said relative to his manner of work, that his specialty was not to exhibit the actual state of science and to deduce from it the various theories which have been devised. The most remarkable feature of his course was the ardor of his connection and the clearness with which he discussed his favorite subjects; it was not only instruction in science but also the love of science itself that he imparted to his pupils, and for which many among them will always remember him with gratitude.

Schoenbein did not limit his instruction to the course of the university; he understood in the best possible manner how to impart his knowledge to others. Above all, we should speak of the activity which he imparted to the Society of Natural Sciences of Basle, of which, during 40 years, he was a prominent member; he considered it as a dear friend, to whom he always first confided his most important discoveries. The published proceedings of this society give the entire series of the results of his scientific labors. The Helvetic Society of Natural Sciences lost in him one of its most zealous and valued members; he almost always animated the meetings of the physical section by interesting communications, and this year, at the session of Einsiedeln, his absence was noticed and deeply regretted; tho society, feeling the want of his cheering presence, transmitted to him by telegraph a friendly salutation; alas, this found him upon a sick bed, soon to become his bed of death. All the inhabitants of Basle, interested in sciences, were indebted to him for the series of interesting lectures which he addressed to the public of that city. In former days he gave complete courses of popular instruction, and in later years he did not refuse to share the efforts of younger men in the organizations for the same purpose. But his enthusiasm for instructing extended beyond the confines of the lecture-room, in society, in the street, even at the refreshment saloons he knew how to give a scientific turn to conversation without assuming the pedantic tone of a master. Schoenbein knew how to gain the hearts of all by his amiable qualities, and consequently numbered many friends. But his general popularity did not prevent him from contracting close friendships, to which he remained faithful during life; he was intimately attached to several of his colleagues, of whom some have preceded him to the tomb; the youngest of his associates felt that it was not only benevolence but a true friendship which attached him to them. Among the foreign philosophers with whom he was on terms the most intimate, and with whom he regularly corresponded, we may mention Faraday, Grove, Liebig, Wöhler, Eisenlohr, Pettenhofer, Sainte Claire Deville, and Sebetellen de Metz, author of a well-known work on ozone.

The meetings of the Helvetic Society furnished him the opportunity of intercourse with the savants of Switzerland. He was particularly associated with M. M. Escher, Studer de la Rive, Pictet, Heir, Desor, Lang, and many younger philosophers who also shared his friendship.

If we would sum up in a single sentence the character of Schoenbein, we should say that at all points of view he represented an individual of peculiar development; he was an original in the best sense of the term, and such men ought to be more appreciated, as they become ever more rare in our age of universal mediocrity. Schoenbein was a complete man, for although an absorbing idea, the love of science, governed his entire life, yet, all his other faculties had received an entire and vigorous development. His general health was good; he was hardened against exterior influences. It is but a short time since he worked during the middle of winter in an unheated laboratory. For several years he suffered occasionally from attacks of gout, from which, however, he always completely recovered. On this account he resorted, during the vacation of last summer, to Wildbad, thinking to fortify himself for the approaching winter. In returning, however, he was detained at Sauersberg, near Baden Baden, at the house of a friend by an abscess on his neck, which, rapidly assuming a dangerous character, rendered his return home impossible. The greatest care and medical aid could not arrest the march of this disease, and on the 29th of August he died peacefully in the house of his kind and attentive host. His obsequies took place at Basle, the 2d of September. The funeral was conducted by friends, among whom was Eisenlohr, who had visited him on his death-bed. A long train of colleagues, pupils, relations, and admirers accompanied him with emotions of deep sorrow to his last resting place.