Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe
Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe was a
chemist.
Kolbe was born in Elliehausen near
Hanover,
Germany.
He became an assistant to
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen at the
University of Marburg in 1842, after studying
chemistry with
Friedrich Whler. Subsequently he assisted
Lyon Playfair at the University of
London and from 1847 to 1851 was engaged in editing the
Handwrterbuch der reinen und angewandten Chemie written by
Justus von Liebig and Whler. Kolbe then succeeded Bunsen at Marburg, and in 1865 he went to the University of
Leipzig.
Encyclopedia
Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe was a
chemist.
Kolbe was born in Elliehausen near
Hanover,
Germany.
He became an assistant to
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen at the
University of Marburg in 1842, after studying
chemistry with
Friedrich Wöhler. Subsequently he assisted
Lyon Playfair at the University of
London and from 1847 to 1851 was engaged in editing the
Handwörterbuch der reinen und angewandten Chemie written by
Justus von Liebig and Wöhler. Kolbe then succeeded Bunsen at Marburg, and in 1865 he went to the University of
Leipzig.
At that time, it was believed that organic and inorganic compounds are independent from each other, and that organic compounds could be created only by living organisms. Kolbe believed that
organic compounds could be derived from inorganic ones, directly or indirectly, by substitution processes. He validated his theory by converting
carbon disulfide, in several steps, to
acetic acid . Introducing a modified idea of structural
radicals, he contributed to the establishment of structural theory. He also predicted the existence of secondary and tertiary
alcohols.
He worked on the
electrolysis of the salts of
fatty and other acids and prepared
salicylic acid, a building block of
aspirin in a process called
Kolbe synthesis or
Kolbe-Schmitt reaction.
With
Edward Frankland he found that
nitriles can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding acids. As editor of the
Journal für praktische Chemie , he was sometimes severely critical of the work of others.
He died in
Leipzig,
Germany.
