Arthur C. Cope (June 27, 1909 – June 4, 1966) was an American
organic chemist
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J. ...
and member of the
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
. He is credited with the development of several important chemical reactions which bear his name including the
Cope elimination
The Cope reaction or Cope elimination, developed by Arthur C. Cope, is an elimination reaction of the N-oxide to form an alkene and a hydroxylamine.
Mechanism and applications
The reaction mechanism involves an intramolecular 5-membered cyclic t ...
and the
Cope rearrangement
The Cope rearrangement is an extensively studied organic reaction involving the ,3sigmatropic rearrangement of 1,5-dienes. It was developed by Arthur C. Cope and Elizabeth Hardy. For example, 3-methyl-hexa-1,5-diene heated to 300 °C yield ...
.
Cope was born on June 27, 1909, in
Dunreith, Indiana. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from
Butler University
Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...
in
Indianapolis in 1929 and a PhD in 1932 from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
. His research continued at Harvard University in 1933 as a National Research Council Fellow. In 1934, he joined the faculty of
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
. There, his research included the first syntheses of a number of
barbiturates including
delvinyl sodium. At Bryn Mawr, Cope also developed a reaction involving the thermal rearrangement of an
allyl group which eventually became known as the Cope rearrangement.
In 1941, Cope moved to
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
where he worked on projects associated with the war effect including chemical warfare agents, antimalarial drugs, and treatments for
mustard gas poisoning. In 1945, he moved to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
to become the head of the Department of Chemistry.
Awards and Honors
*1944
American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry
*1945 Elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
*1947 Elected to the
National Academy of Sciences.
*1961 Elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
Today, the
Arthur C. Cope Award
The Arthur C. Cope Award is a prize awarded for achievement in the field of organic chemistry research. It is sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund, and has been awarded annually since 1973 by the American Chemical Society. It consists of $25,000, ...
, in honor of his memory, is given out annually by the
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
to the most outstanding organic chemist.
References
Literature
*
External links
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Arthur C.
1909 births
1966 deaths
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Columbia University faculty
Organic chemists
20th-century American chemists
Butler University alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Harvard University staff
Bryn Mawr College faculty
Members of the American Philosophical Society