John Henry Wotiz (April 12, 1919 – August 21, 2001) was a Czech-American chemist in the areas of

organic chemistry 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 chemical history.

Career

Wotiz began studying of chemical engineering at the

Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, cs, České vysoké učení technické v Praze, ČVUT) is one of the largest university, universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Centra ...

, but went to the US with his brother in 1939 because of the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. In 1941 he received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

and in 1943 a master's degree from the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

of chemical weaponry. In 1944 he became a US citizen. In 1948 he earned a PhD in chemistry under Melvin S. Newman at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. Wotiz was an instructor and from 1954 an associate professor at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. He went to work in industry at the Diamond Alkali Company in

Painesville Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River (Ohio), Grand River northeast of Cleveland. Its population was 19,563 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cens ...

in 1957. There he was involved in authoring 44 patents. In 1962 he became a professor at

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, and in 1967 at

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

in Carbondale. In 1980 Wotiz was Chairman of the History Division of 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 ...

. Starting in 1971 he organized trips to Europe regarding the history of chemistry. As a chemical historian, he was particularly concerned with

August Kekulé Friedrich August Kekulé, later Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz ( , ; 7 September 1829 – 13 July 1896), was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekulé was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially ...

. He was involved in establishing a center for the history of chemistry, the

Chemical Heritage Foundation The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center. It was fo ...

(now the Science History Institute). Wotiz retired in 1989. He was particularly committed to international exchange with Eastern Europe and was involved in comparative studies of chemical education in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Asia. He and his wife Kathryn died as a result of a car accident on August 21, 2001.

Awards

In 1982 Wotiz received the

Dexter Award The HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry (2013-present) is given by the Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The award was originally known as the Dexter Award (1956-2001) and th ...

, in part for his contributions to the establishment of a center for the history of chemistry. In 1998 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

Technical University of Ostrava Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...

(in his home town) after receiving their gold medal in 1982.

Works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wotiz, John H. 1919 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American chemists Historians of chemistry University of Richmond alumni Ohio State University Graduate School alumni 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers People from Ostrava Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Furman University alumni Czech chemists University of Pittsburgh faculty Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Marshall University faculty Naturalized citizens of the United States 20th-century American male writers