Beyond Genius, Before Theory: Recovering the Lost World of Practice in 19th-Century Chemistry

Time: 6:00pm

Location: Chemical Heritage Foundation

We have often been told that chemistry was built on theory by genius. But what did 19th-century chemists know? What could they do, and how could they do it? Jackson’s talk outlines an entirely new account of the development of organic chemistry. This history recovers a lost world of chemists in laboratories filled with glassware—a world of purification, characterization, and standardization; of reliable reactions and inescapable risks; of textbooks and manuals of practice; of training and labor. By about 1900, synthetic chemists had acquired a remarkable mastery over nature, but their achievements were not driven by theory. Organic synthesis—this vast, uniquely creative practice—was essential to stabilizing productive theories of structure and reactivity. Chemists achieve great things, but they do so for reasons beyond genius, using methods before theory.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.