Robert Ogden Doremus
Encyclopedia
Robert Ogden Doremus was a United States
chemist
and physician
.
and her merchant husband Thomas. He studied at Columbia
, and graduated from New York University
in 1842. Here he came under the influence of John W. Draper, and in 1843 became his assistant in the medical department of the University. This office he held for seven years, and aided Draper in many of his famous researches on light and heat. In 1847 Doremus went to Europe
, continuing his chemical studies in Paris
with special reference to electrometallurgy
, also visiting the establishments where chemical products were manufactured.
On his return to New York, in 1848, he established with Charles T. Harris a laboratory on Broadway for the purpose of giving instruction in analytical chemistry, and for making commercial analyses. He was elected professor of chemistry in the New York College of Pharmacy in 1849, and delivered the first lectures in his own laboratory. Meanwhile he studied medicine with Abraham S. Cox, and received his degree from the medical department of the University in 1850.
He was one of the founders of the New York Medical College
in 1850, and at his own expense arranged and equipped the first laboratory in the United States for instructing medical students in analytical chemistry
, requiring all the candidates for graduation to pass this examination. In 1851 he was elected professor of natural history
in the Free Academy (now the College of the City of New York
), and in 1859 was associated with others in establishing the Long Island College Hospital
, where he lectured for several years. He was appointed professor of chemistry and toxicology in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 1861.
A year later he went to Paris
, where he spent two years in developing the use of compressed granulated gunpowder
in firearms. The cartridges patented by him require no serge envelopes as are ordinarily used in muzzle loading cannon
, and hence no sponging of the gun after firing is necessary. Doremus was authorized by the French minister of war to modify the machinery in the Bouchet pouderie so that gunpowder of the American character could be produced. Subsequently an exhibition of the firing of compressed granulated powder in cannon and small arms was made in Vincennes
, before Napoleon III and many of his generals. This system was adopted by the French government, and a large portion of the Mont Cenis Tunnel was blasted with “la poudre comprimée.”
While in Paris, he was invited to fill the chair of chemistry and physics in the College of the City of New York. His lectures on toxicology at Bellevue Hospital Medical College resulted in his being called upon by coroner
s and district attorney
s to examine poison
cases, and he introduced radical changes in the system of medical jurisprudence
. He established a special toxicological laboratory, with a dissecting room attached, kept under lock and key, using only reagent
s of known purity, and purchasing new glass
and porcelain
vessels for each case. Doremus further insisted that the expert should have ample time for his researches, and that he should be properly remunerated for his services.
His course led to more thorough scientific investigation than was formerly common in poison examinations. In the case of James Stephens, convicted of poisoning his wife, Doremus analyzed not only the entire body of Mrs. Stephens, but another human body, to test the question of “normal arsenic
.” He was the expert in the celebrated Burdell murder case (1857), and examined the blood-stains found in Dr. Burdell's room. In another case he proved the presence of strychnine
in a body that had been buried for four months.
In 1865 the “Atlanta” arrived at quarantine
, and during her voyage from Liverpool
sixty of her passengers had died from cholera
. A quick method of disinfection was necessary, and Doremus recommended that chlorine in enormous quantities be used. Under his direction, specially prepared vessels for the generation of this powerful gas were introduced between decks, the hatches battened down, and the vapor allowed to accomplish its work of destroying germs. This treatment proved thoroughly successful, and in 1875 the process was again used, with equal success, in the disinfection of hospital wards.
In 1871 he was appointed president of a Board for examining the druggists and their clerks in New York city, which in six months examined over 900 persons. He obtained aid from the Board of Health in suppressing the gases emanating from the gas houses, and opposed its action in adopting the “lactometer with the senses” as the sole means of testing the purity of milk.
Doremus was known as a brilliant lecturer on scientific topics, and frequently appeared before New York audiences in that capacity. He has patented methods for extinguishing fires, and also other chemical processes, also introducing into the United States several chemical industries. The New York university has conferred on him the degree of LL.D.
Doremus held for several years the presidency of the New York Philharmonic Society, and has also been president of the New York Medico-Legal Society, of which organization he was chemist for several years. His published writings include only a few addresses, notably that at the unveiling of the Humboldt statue in Central Park, and papers delivered before scientific societies.
His son Charles Avery Doremus
was also a noted chemist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
.
Biography
Doremus was the son of philanthropist Sarah Platt DoremusSarah Platt Doremus
Sarah Platt Doremus was noted for her philanthropy.-Biography:She was the daughter of Elias Haines, a merchant of New York, and her mother was the daughter of Robert Ogden, a distinguished lawyer of New Jersey...
and her merchant husband Thomas. He studied at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and graduated from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1842. Here he came under the influence of John W. Draper, and in 1843 became his assistant in the medical department of the University. This office he held for seven years, and aided Draper in many of his famous researches on light and heat. In 1847 Doremus went to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, continuing his chemical studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with special reference to electrometallurgy
Electrometallurgy
Electrometallurgy is the field concerned with the processes of metal electrodeposition. There are five categories of these processes:* electrowinning, the extraction of metal from ores* electrorefining, the purification of metals...
, also visiting the establishments where chemical products were manufactured.
On his return to New York, in 1848, he established with Charles T. Harris a laboratory on Broadway for the purpose of giving instruction in analytical chemistry, and for making commercial analyses. He was elected professor of chemistry in the New York College of Pharmacy in 1849, and delivered the first lectures in his own laboratory. Meanwhile he studied medicine with Abraham S. Cox, and received his degree from the medical department of the University in 1850.
He was one of the founders of the New York Medical College
New York Medical College
New York Medical College, aka New York Med or NYMC, is a private graduate health sciences university based in Westchester County, New York, a suburb of New York City and a part of the New York Metropolitan Area...
in 1850, and at his own expense arranged and equipped the first laboratory in the United States for instructing medical students in analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...
, requiring all the candidates for graduation to pass this examination. In 1851 he was elected professor of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
in the Free Academy (now the College of the City of New York
College of the City of New York
The College of the City of New York is the former name of New York University's undergraduate college when the university was named "University of the City of New York"....
), and in 1859 was associated with others in establishing the Long Island College Hospital
Long Island College Hospital
Long Island College Hospital is a teaching hospital situated at Hicks and Amity Streets in Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, New York.Founded in 1858, the hospital has 506 beds. In 1860 it introduced the practice of bedside teaching and it later became the first U.S. hospital to use stethoscopes...
, where he lectured for several years. He was appointed professor of chemistry and toxicology in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 1861.
A year later he went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he spent two years in developing the use of compressed granulated gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
in firearms. The cartridges patented by him require no serge envelopes as are ordinarily used in muzzle loading cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, and hence no sponging of the gun after firing is necessary. Doremus was authorized by the French minister of war to modify the machinery in the Bouchet pouderie so that gunpowder of the American character could be produced. Subsequently an exhibition of the firing of compressed granulated powder in cannon and small arms was made in Vincennes
Vincennes
Vincennes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...
, before Napoleon III and many of his generals. This system was adopted by the French government, and a large portion of the Mont Cenis Tunnel was blasted with “la poudre comprimée.”
While in Paris, he was invited to fill the chair of chemistry and physics in the College of the City of New York. His lectures on toxicology at Bellevue Hospital Medical College resulted in his being called upon by coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
s and district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
s to examine poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
cases, and he introduced radical changes in the system of medical jurisprudence
Medical jurisprudence
Medical jurisprudence, or forensic medicine in the broad sense , now embraces all matters which may bring the physician into contact with the law...
. He established a special toxicological laboratory, with a dissecting room attached, kept under lock and key, using only reagent
Reagent
A reagent is a "substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs." Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reactant is less specifically a "substance that is consumed in the course of...
s of known purity, and purchasing new glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
and porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
vessels for each case. Doremus further insisted that the expert should have ample time for his researches, and that he should be properly remunerated for his services.
His course led to more thorough scientific investigation than was formerly common in poison examinations. In the case of James Stephens, convicted of poisoning his wife, Doremus analyzed not only the entire body of Mrs. Stephens, but another human body, to test the question of “normal arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
.” He was the expert in the celebrated Burdell murder case (1857), and examined the blood-stains found in Dr. Burdell's room. In another case he proved the presence of strychnine
Strychnine
Strychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...
in a body that had been buried for four months.
In 1865 the “Atlanta” arrived at quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
, and during her voyage from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
sixty of her passengers had died from cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
. A quick method of disinfection was necessary, and Doremus recommended that chlorine in enormous quantities be used. Under his direction, specially prepared vessels for the generation of this powerful gas were introduced between decks, the hatches battened down, and the vapor allowed to accomplish its work of destroying germs. This treatment proved thoroughly successful, and in 1875 the process was again used, with equal success, in the disinfection of hospital wards.
In 1871 he was appointed president of a Board for examining the druggists and their clerks in New York city, which in six months examined over 900 persons. He obtained aid from the Board of Health in suppressing the gases emanating from the gas houses, and opposed its action in adopting the “lactometer with the senses” as the sole means of testing the purity of milk.
Doremus was known as a brilliant lecturer on scientific topics, and frequently appeared before New York audiences in that capacity. He has patented methods for extinguishing fires, and also other chemical processes, also introducing into the United States several chemical industries. The New York university has conferred on him the degree of LL.D.
Doremus held for several years the presidency of the New York Philharmonic Society, and has also been president of the New York Medico-Legal Society, of which organization he was chemist for several years. His published writings include only a few addresses, notably that at the unveiling of the Humboldt statue in Central Park, and papers delivered before scientific societies.
His son Charles Avery Doremus
Charles Avery Doremus
Charles Avery Doremus was a United States chemist.-Biography:He was the son of chemist and physician Robert Ogden Doremus. He graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1870, and subsequently studied in the universities of Leipzig and Heidelberg, receiving the degree of Ph.D...
was also a noted chemist.