Charles Frederick Chandler (December 6, 1836 – August 25, 1925) was an American
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
, best known for his regulatory work in
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
,
sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
, and
consumer safety
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, as well as his work in chemical education—first at
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
and then, for the majority of his career, at
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 taught in the Chemical Department, the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, and served as the first Dean of Columbia University's
School of Mines
A school of mines (or mining school) is an engineering school, often established in the 18th and 19th centuries, that originally focused on mining engineering and applied science. Most have been integrated within larger constructs such as minera ...
.
Early life
Charles Frederick Chandler was born in
Lancaster, Massachusetts
Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441.
History
In 1643 Lancaster was first ...
, on December 6, 1836. His family moved shortly after his birth to
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
, where he spent most of his formative years and engaged in his earliest formal education. As a child he devoted nearly all of his free time to scientific and geological explorations and attending public lectures on scientific subjects. These public lectures at the New Bedford Lyceum, and in particular a series of lectures given by the geologist and naturalist
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history.
Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...
, sparked his lifelong interest in science.
["Looking Backward: A Chat with Professor Charles Frederick Chandler by 'Quip'" Medical Quip; January, 1923; Charles F. Chandler Papers; Box 6 folder 4; Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.] He was particularly interested in mineralogy and collected rock and mineral samples that he found around his grandfather's Lancaster home.
Upon completion of his studies at New Bedford High School, Chandler spent a year in private study, learning Latin and Greek and conducting chemical experiments in a laboratory he set up in his father's attic to prepare himself for more advanced chemical study. He then left his home in New Bedford and enrolled in the
Lawrence Scientific School
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is the engineering school within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, offering degrees in engineering and applied sciences to graduate students admitted ...
of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. While at Harvard he studied Industrial Chemistry, but he was encouraged to continue his studies in Industrial Chemistry and Geology in Germany, which was at the forefront of scientific education at the time. He enrolled in the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
in 1854 to study with
Friedrich Wöhler
Friedrich Wöhler () FRS(For) HonFRSE (31 July 180023 September 1882) was a German chemist known for his work in inorganic chemistry, being the first to isolate the chemical elements beryllium and yttrium in pure metallic form. He was the firs ...
, and after studying under Wöhler and working as an assistant in the lab of
Heinrich Rose
Heinrich Rose (6 August 1795 – 27 January 1864) was a German mineralogist and analytical chemist. He was the brother of the mineralogist Gustav Rose and a son of Valentin Rose.
Rose's early works on phosphorescence were noted in the Quarter ...
, the father of analytic chemistry, he earned his PhD from the University of Göttingen in 1856.
[
]
Academic career
After completing his degree, Chandler returned to the United States to pursue his own scientific career. Upon his return, in 1857, Chandler became the chemical assistant at Professor Charles Joy's laboratory at Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, and shortly thereafter began to lecture on Mineralogy and Geology at the college as well as manage the laboratory. He became an associate professor at the College in 1857 at the age of 21. Shortly after, he and his younger brother William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
became members of The Kappa Alpha Society
The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which wou ...
, of which Joy was also a member. He remained at Union College for the next 7 years during which time he ran the chemistry lab and married his first wife, Anna Craig Chandler.
His tenure at Union College ended in 1864 when Chandler was asked by his former colleague, Professor Joy, to consider taking on the Chair of Chemistry at the newly formed Columbia College School of Mines that Professor Thomas Egleston and General Vinton were attempting to start under Columbia President Barnard. Chandler gladly took the opportunity to move to New York, and begin his long relationship with Columbia University.
The School of Mines, later to develop into the School of Engineering and Applied Science, consisted at this time of one room in the basement of a Madison Avenue academic building. Within the first year of the School's existence, Chandler took on the position of Dean, and under his leadership in that first year the school moved to a larger four floor building and doubled the number of students enrolled in its program of study. Chandler was to remain dean of the School of Mines for the next 33 years, through its move to its new home on Columbia's Morningside Campus and into Havemeyer Hall
Havemeyer Hall is a historic academic building located in Columbia University in New York City.
History
It was built between 1896 and 1898, under the direction of Charles Frederick Chandler and named after Columbia graduate Frederick Christian Ha ...
, the state-of-the-art Chemistry building that he helped to design and raise funds.
During the period he was the organizer of the American Chemical Society and its president from 1881 to 1889.
Though he stepped down as the Dean of the School of Mines in 1897, he continued to teach chemistry at Columbia University until 1910, and proved to be an extremely popular and engaging instructor. One of his former pupils provided the testimony that "He was the most popular professor at Columbia for the forty-seven years he was active. This was due to his ability to place himself on a level and equality with his hearers, or indeed anyone he met... He was a child among children, a man of science among scientific men, but more particularly, he was a real man among his fellow men." This sentiment is echoed in the Columbia College Jester piece that commemorates him upon his retirement, "Year after year he has taken the entering classes by the hand and led them through a course of Chemistry, Ethics, and Humor so cleverly combined that it has made men of them."
Though Chandler is perhaps most associated with the School of Mines, he also, starting in 1867, began lecturing in Chemistry for the New York College of Pharmacy. He acted as president of this school until 1897 when it formalized its relationship to Columbia University and was incorporated as a University Faculty in 1897. He also lectured in Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1872 where he taught chemistry and medical jurisprudence and called for a more rigorous scientific training for medical professionals.[Typescript Autobiography; Charles F. Chandler Papers, Box 6, folder 3; Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.] In addition to his instructional and administrative duties, Chandler also started a Chemical Museum, later named the Chandler Chemical Museum in his honor, to highlight the accomplishments of modern industrial and analytic chemistry.
While Chandler was a very popular instructor, he was not always so popular among his colleagues. He spent much of his time acting as an expert witness in various legal cases and patent disputes, and performed independent consulting work for companies such as Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
. Many of Chandler's colleagues had concerns that Chandler was more focused on his profitable, outside consulting work than he was on his academic and administrative duties.
Though he was not entirely without controversy, Chandler remained an integral part chemical education at Columbia University until 1911 when he finally, after 46 years of service at Columbia and 54 years of college teaching, retired from teaching. Upon retirement he and his second wife Augusta Berard Chandler continued to reside in New York City, but spent more and more time at their summer home in Westhampton and at her family's home in New Hartford, Connecticut
New Hartford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,658 at the 2020 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the New Hartford Center census-designated place (CDP). The town is mainl ...
, where Chandler died in 1925.
New York Metropolitan Board of Health
While chemical instruction made up much of Charles Chandler's career, he was also an energetic public health advocate and sanitation reformer. His career in public service began in 1866 when the Secretary of the Metropolitan Board of Health The New York City Metropolitan Board of Health was the first modern municipal public health authority in the United States. It was founded in 1866 by the New York City Common Council at a suggestion by the New York Academy of Medicine, following a c ...
asked Chandler to perform some chemical work for the board, ex officio. The Board soon realized the value of having a chemist as part of the organization and later that year Chandler was appointed as chemist to the Board of Health. In 1873 Mayor Havemeyer appointed Chandler to the Presidency of the Metropolitan Board of Health, a position he held until 1883.
His work with the New York City Municipal Board of Health led to a number of important sanitary reforms in the city. When he began his services on the Board of Health in 1866, 53 out of every 100 deaths in the city were children under the age of 5. He implemented major reforms to improve infant nutrition, including stopping the sale of watered-down milk, and instituted a corps of traveling physicians to tend to the residents of tenements. By the time he left the Board, the child mortality rate had fallen to 46 out of every 100 deaths, an estimated saving of 8000 lives and 5000 children per annum.[ He was a strong advocate for tenement reform, designing tenement houses that were cleaner and brighter than those most prevalent in the city, and pushing a "Tenement House Act" through legislature.] This is all in addition to the more mundane tasks of testing household goods such as cosmetics, patent medicine, and wallpaper for toxic and potentially harmful additives. The Board of Health, under his leadership is credited with preventing a cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic in 1883. He, himself, thought his most important work with the Board of Health was his work in reducing fatal kerosene related accidents through informing the public about the dangers of kerosene with naphtha and gasoline added (making combustible vapors).[ All in all, Chandler's leadership of the Board of Health marks an important chapter in the history of sanitation in New York, and his improvements were achieved against political corruption and business interests.
]
Professional activities and honors
Chandler was very active in professional and social organizations, belonging to several Chemical Clubs and Organizations. While some of his clubs were purely or primarily social, other such as The Chemists' Club, which Chandler founded, were intended to build professional connections among scientists in New York. He also founded 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 d ...
, and served twice as its president, first in 1881 and again in 1889. He was the president of both the American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry in New York, and the first American president of the parent association, the Society of Chemical Industry
The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit".
Offices
The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...
in London. In 1870 he and his brother William Henry Chandler, a chemistry professor at Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...
, started the journal ''The American Chemist'', the first chemical journal in America. They both edited the journal until it was discontinued in 1877.
He received a number of honorary degrees (such as an MD from University of New York and LL.D. from Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
), the Gold Medal of the National Institute of Social Sciences, and the prestigious Perkin Medal
The Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the h ...
from the American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry. After he retired from Columbia University, the alumni of that University set up an endowment for the Chandler lectureship and the Chandler Medal in his honor.
Notes
External links
Charles F. Chandler Papers
at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is principal repository for special collections of Columbia University. Located in New York City on the university's Morningside Heights campus, its collections span more than 4,000 years, from early Mesopotam ...
at 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 ...
Society of Chemical Industry:
at www.soci.org
at www.Columbia.edu
* http://books.nap.edu/html/biomems/cchandler.pdf
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
Charles Frederick Chandler architectural records and papers collection, 1876-1896
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Charles F.
1836 births
1925 deaths
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni
American chemists
University of Göttingen alumni
Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty
Columbia University faculty
People from Lancaster, Massachusetts
People from Westhampton, New York
Members of the American Philosophical Society
Scientists from New York (state)
Commissioners of Health of the City of New York