Charles Goessmann
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Charles Anthony Goessmann (13 June 1827 – 1 September 1910), known in his native German as Karl Anton Gößmann, was a
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
agricultural and food
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 ...
.


Biography


Education

Goessmann was born in
Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He was educated at the gymnasium in
Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...
. After leaving the gymnasium, he became an apprentice pharmacist, and worked as an assistant pharmacist in several towns. He studied under
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 ...
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 ...
, where he received the degree of
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 ...
in 1853. From 1852 until 1857, he was assistant in the chemical laboratory, and
privatdocent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
in the university. During this time, he studied the
peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
.


United States

One of Goessmann's students at Göttingen was J. H. Eastwick, and in 1857 Goessmann came to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
as chemist and manager of the Eastwick Bros. sugar refinery in Philadelphia. He remained in that position until 1861. He was then chemist of the
Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...
Salt Company, 1862 to 1869, engaged in the development of the salt industry in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
and
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. In 1862, he became
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of chemistry in the
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
in
Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
, but resigned that chair after two years.


Massachusetts

William S. Clark, president of the
Massachusetts Agricultural College The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
, had also been one of Goessmann's students at Göttingen, and in 1869 Goessmann was appointed professor of chemistry at MAC. His research focused on the chemistry of crops and agricultural soils. In addition to his professorship, he was chemist to the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture in 1873, director of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station in 1882, and analyst of the Massachusetts Board of Health in 1883. In 1873, he got a law passed for accurate fertilizer labeling. He was the first president of the American Association of Agricultural Chemists. On his retirement in 1907, he received a Carnegie pension. He died in
Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...
, leaving a widow, Mary Anna Clara Kinny Goessmann, whom he had married on 22 October 1862, and three children. He has a building named after him at UMass Amherst, Goessmann Hall, which is the main chemical engineering building on campus.


Works

His contributions to chemical literature were numerous, and include, prior to his coming to the United States, papers on organic acids contributed to the ''Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie''. Goessmann's later papers include articles on sugar, salt, various foods, and special fertilization of plants. These appeared chiefly in the reports of the organizations with which he was connected. Selections from his works: * ''Chemical Composition of the Brines of Onondaga'' (1862) * ''Brines of Michigan'' (1862–63) * ''Best Mode of Manufacturing Coarse or Solar Salt from the Brines of Onondaga'' (1863) * ''Mineral Springs of Onondaga'' (1866) * ''Salt Deposits of Petite Anse, La.'' (1867) * ''Salt Resources of Goderich, Canada'' (1868) * ''Application of Caustic Magnesia for Sugar Refining'' (1864) * ''Manufacture of Sugar in Cuba'' (1865) *
Justus von Liebig Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at t ...
's ''
Annalen der Chemie ''Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie'' (often cited as just ''Liebigs Annalen'') was one of the oldest and historically most important journals in the field of organic chemistry worldwide. It was established in 1832 and edited by Justus von Liebi ...
'' (vols. lxxxvi., lxxxix., xc, xci., xciii., xciv., xcvii., xcviii., xcix., c, ci., civ.) *
Benjamin Silliman Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an early American chemist and science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, at Yale College, the first person to use the process of fractional distillat ...
's ''
American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...
'' (vols. xliv. and xlix.) * Reports of the New York Board of Agriculture * Reports of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture * ''Transactions of the New York Agricultural Society'' * Reports of the Trustees of the Massachusetts Agricultural College


Notes


References


''New York Times'' obituary
* * Albert Bernhardt Faust, ''The German Element in the United States'' (2 vols.), Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1909, vol. 2, p. 54.


External links



* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goessmann, Charles Anthony 1827 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American chemists University of Göttingen alumni American agriculturalists Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty German emigrants to the United States University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Academics from Massachusetts