Paul Nikolai Kogerman ( in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

– 27 July 1951 in Tallinn) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

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 ...

and founder of modern research in

oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitute ...

. Paul Kogerman was born into a family of gas factory worker (and former sailor). He went to an elementary school in 1901–1904 and a town school in 1904–1908. After town school Kogerman earned a living by teaching in church manors near Tallinn. In 1913, he was graduated from the Alexander Gymnasium in Tallinn (Reval) as an extern. Starting in 1913, he studied at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

, graduating from its Department of Chemistry in 1918. In the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westwa ...

he fought in a unit of Tallinn teachers. In 1919–1920 he got a state scholarship to study at the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. In May 1921 he was given a qualification of

chemical technologist Chemical technologists and technicians (abbr. chem techs) are workers who provide technical support or services in chemistry, chemical-related fields. They may work under direct supervision or may work independently, depending on their specific po ...

by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and in 1922 he received the degree of

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

Career

From 1921 to 1936, Kogerman was active at the

. After the defence of his Master's thesis on the thermal decay of oil-shale, he was elected docent of Organic Chemistry of the University in 1922. He went on to become extraordinary professor in 1924 and full professor in 1925. In 1926 and 1933 he was guest lecturer at the

ETH Zürich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

and in 1927–1928 at

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 ...

. In 1934, he defended, in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, his doctoral thesis on the combining and

polymerization reactions In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many for ...

of the isolated

double bond In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betw ...

diene In organic chemistry a diene ( ) (diolefin ( ) or alkadiene) is a covalent compound that contains two double bonds, usually among carbon atoms. They thus contain two alk''ene'' units, with the standard prefix ''di'' of systematic nomenclature. ...

s. From 1936 to 1941, Kogerman was professor of organic chemistry at the

Tallinn University of Technology Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; et, Tallinna Tehnikaülikool) is the only technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administratio ...

, in 1936–1939 he was also a rector of the University. In 1938, Kogerman was selected to the newly established

Estonian Academy of Sciences Founded in 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences ( et, Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia) is Estonia's national academy of science in Tallinn. As with other national academies, it is an independent group of well-known scientists whose stated aim is to ...

and in 1946 reselected after re-establishment of the Academy as the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. He was the president of the

Estonian Naturalists' Society Estonian Naturalists' Society ( et, Eesti Looduseuurijate Selts, ELUS) is the oldest Estonia-based society of naturalists. It was founded in 1853, and since establishing has been the major scientific organisation focusing on natural history of E ...

in 1929–1936. In 1938–1939 Kogerman was ''ex officio'' member of the National Council ''(Riiginõukogu).'' From October 1939 until the Soviet occupation of Estonia on 21 June 1940 Kogerman served as Minister of Public Education. In 1941, Kogerman, together with his family, was deported by Soviet authorities to the prisoner camp in

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as S ...

. He was prematurely released and allowed to return to Estonia in 1945. From 1945 to 1951 he was director of the chair for organic chemistry at

. From 1947 to 1950 he served also as the director of the Chemistry Institute of the Academy of Sciences.''Eesti Elulood.'' Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti Entsüklopeedia 14) , p. 171

Honors

In 1927, Kogerman was decorated with the insignia of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and in 1938 with the Second Class of the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

. In 2006, the Paul Kogerman scholarship was founded, to be granted to successful master's and doctoral level students of the Faculties of Science and Chemical and Materials Technology of the Tallinn University of Technology.

Significance

Paul Kogerman won international reputation with his work on oil shale. He initiated systematic research of oil shale and its products by establishing, together with professor Michael Wittlich, a laboratory to study oil-bearing shales in 1925. Kogerman submitted fundamental work on the structure and origin of oil shale and its chemical characteristics, as well as work on thermal processes.

Publications

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Biography

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References

External links

Paul Kogerman's CV
by Tallinn University of Technology (in Estonian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kogerman, Paul 1891 births 1951 deaths People from Tallinn People from the Governorate of Estonia Members of the Riiginõukogu Estonian chemists Oil shale in Estonia Oil shale researchers Education and Social affairs ministers of Estonia University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Tartu Alumni of Imperial College London Harvard University staff Academic staff of the Tallinn University of Technology Members of the Estonian Academy of Sciences Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class Recipients of the Legion of Honour Burials at Metsakalmistu Members of the Estonian National Assembly