T. Curtius on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
'' Geheimrat'' Julius Wilhelm Theodor Curtius (27 May 1857 – 8 February 1928) was professor of Chemistry at Heidelberg University and elsewhere. He published the
Theodor Curtius was born in Duisburg in the Ruhr area in Germany. He studied chemistry with Robert Bunsen at Heidelberg University and with Hermann Kolbe at Leipzig University. He received his doctorate in 1882 in Leipzig.
After working from 1884 to 1886 for Adolf von Baeyer at the University of Munich, Curtius became the director of the analytical chemistry department at University of Erlangen until 1889. Then he accepted the chair in Chemistry at the University of Kiel, where he remained very productive. In line with this success, Curtius was appointed Geheimer Regierungsrat (
Royal Society of Chemistry, Historical Group, short biography of Curtius
Heidelberg University
German Alpen Association, Kiel section
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtius, Theodor 1857 births 1928 deaths 20th-century German chemists University of Bonn faculty German mountain climbers 19th-century German chemists Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Curtius rearrangement
The Curtius rearrangement (or Curtius reaction or Curtius degradation), first defined by Theodor Curtius in 1885, is the thermal decomposition of an acyl azide to an isocyanate with loss of nitrogen gas. The isocyanate then undergoes attack by a va ...
in 1890/1894 and also discovered diazoacetic acid, hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a simple pnictogen hydride, and is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odour. Hydrazine is highly toxic unless handled in solution as, for example, hydrazine ...
and hydrazoic acid
Hydrazoic acid, also known as hydrogen azide or azoimide, This also contains a detailed description of the contemporaneous production process. is a compound with the chemical formula . It is a colorless, volatile, and explosive liquid at room tem ...
.
History
Theodor Curtius was born in Duisburg in the Ruhr area in Germany. He studied chemistry with Robert Bunsen at Heidelberg University and with Hermann Kolbe at Leipzig University. He received his doctorate in 1882 in Leipzig.
After working from 1884 to 1886 for Adolf von Baeyer at the University of Munich, Curtius became the director of the analytical chemistry department at University of Erlangen until 1889. Then he accepted the chair in Chemistry at the University of Kiel, where he remained very productive. In line with this success, Curtius was appointed Geheimer Regierungsrat (Privy Councillor
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
) in 1895. After a one-year appointment as the successor of the famous August Kekulé at Bonn University
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
in 1897, Curtius succeeded Victor Meyer
Viktor Meyer (8 September 18488 August 1897) was a German chemist and significant contributor to both organic and inorganic chemistry. He is best known for inventing an apparatus for determining vapour densities, the Viktor Meyer apparatus, and f ...
as Professor of Chemistry at his old university in Heidelberg in 1898, where he remained until his retirement in 1926. He was succeeded by Karl Freudenberg
Karl Johann Freudenberg (29 January 1886 Weinheim, Baden – 3 April 1983 Weinheim) was a German chemist who did early seminal work on the absolute configurations to carbohydrates, terpenes, and steroids, and on the structure of cellulose (first ...
, who wrote Curtius' biography in 1962.
In his free time, he also composed music, sang in concerts, and was an active mountaineer. In 1894 he founded the Kiel section of the Association of German and Austrian Alpinists, which he personally supported with gifts. In his Munich period, he became a close friend of the alpinist guide Christian Klucker, with whom he made mountaineering hikes for many years thereafter.
Theodor Curtius died in Heidelberg on 8 February 1928.
The Heidelberg University Archives has, in its possession, a photo album from 1907 marking the 25th anniversary of Theodor Curtius receiving his Doctorate. It shows pictures of science scholars, buildings, and labs such as the physio-chemical, pharmaceutical, and organics labs, and much more.
Major publications by Curtius
Curtius wrote over 300 publications. Several had a significant impact on chemical science. * Diazo- und Azoverbindungen der Fettreihe, Barth, Leipzig (1888) * Studien mit Hydrazin, Barth, Leipzig, Bd 1,2 (1896), Bd 3,4 (1918) * Einwirkung von Basen auf Diazoessigester, Berlin (1911) * Die reduktion der aromatische Aldazine und Ketazine, Barth, Leipzig (1912) * Hydrazide und Azide der Azidofettsäuren, Berlin (1912) * Die Einwirkungen von Hydrazin auf Nitroverbindungen, Barth, Leipzig (1913) * * * *Curtius family
The Curtius family is historically from Bremen area. Several other members of the family were notable.See also
* CurtiusReferences
#External links
Royal Society of Chemistry, Historical Group, short biography of Curtius
Heidelberg University
German Alpen Association, Kiel section
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtius, Theodor 1857 births 1928 deaths 20th-century German chemists University of Bonn faculty German mountain climbers 19th-century German chemists Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities