Wilder Dwight Bancroft (October 1, 1867 – February 7, 1953) was an American

physical chemist Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

Biography

Born in Middletown,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, he was the grandson of historian and statesman

George Bancroft George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...

and great-grandson of

Aaron Bancroft Aaron Bancroft (November 10, 1755 – August 19, 1839) was an American clergyman. He was born in Reading, Massachusetts to Samuel Bancroft and Lydia Parker. Biography He began his studies during the American Revolution, and served as a minutema ...

. He received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

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 high ...

in 1888, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in 1892, as well as honorary SCDs from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

(in 1919) and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

(in 1923). He was an assistant chemistry instructor at

from 1888–1889 and 1893–1894, then a full instructor from 1894-1895. He then became an assistant professor at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1895, then a full professor (at Cornell) in 1903. He was elected a Fellow of 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 ...

in 1913, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1920.http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/bancroft-wilder-d.pdf Bancroft was trained by

Wilhelm Ostwald Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (; 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, and Svante Arrhen ...

and Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, and introduced a number of thermodynamic and colloid-chemical concepts into American physicochemistry. He is known for the

Bancroft rule The Bancroft rule in colloidal chemistry states: "The phase in which an emulsifier is more soluble constitutes the continuous phase." This means that water-soluble surfactants tend to give oil-in-water emulsions and oil-soluble surfactants give wa ...

: a predominantly hydrophilic emulsifier stabilizes an oil-in-water emulsion, whereas a predominantly hydrophobic emulsifier stabilizes a water-in oil emulsion. The lunar crater Bancroft is named in his honor. His daughter, Mary Warner Bancroft (1896–1967), married another Cornell chemistry professor, Melvin Lorrel Nichols (1894–1981).

Selected writings

* W. D. Bancroft (1913), Theory of emulsification, ''Journal of Physical Chemistry'' 17, 501 – 519.

References

External links

Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, 1994, v. 65, 3 – 39
- by J. W. Servos
Obituary
(by A. Findlay, ''J. Chem. Soc.'', 1954, 2506 – 2514; pdf copy)
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Wilder Dwight 1867 births 1953 deaths Cornell University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard College alumni Harvard University faculty American physical chemists Leipzig University alumni Presidents of the Electrochemical Society

Biography

Selected writings

See also

References

External links