Eicher, John H.
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John Harold Eicher () was an organic chemist, philosopher of science, historian, and author. He was a
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
scientist who worked at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
to develop the first atomic bomb, and taught chemistry at
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
in
Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...
, for 37 years. Eicher was the author of several chemistry publications and, with his son
David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...
, was coauthor of the reference book ''Civil War High Commands''. In 2016, Eicher was elected by the State of Ohio to the class of 2016, Ohio Senior Citizens of the Year. He taught for Miami University's Institute for Learning and Retirement for many years, and was a teacher for 75 continuous years, with his first assistant teaching role in 1941 in a mineralogy class at
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
.


Early life and education

The product of German, Swiss, and a small amount of Delaware Native American ancestry, Eicher was born in Dayton, Ohio. Eicher's father, Harold Ralph Eicher (1892–1968) was a sales manager and his mother, Myrtle Grace (née Wetzel) Eicher (1894–1989) was a seamstress, public school teacher, and piano and organ teacher. Eicher attended Fairview Elementary School. Eicher organized a chemical laboratory at his home in Dayton, and practiced chemistry and all aspects of photography with a Leica camera. He studied chemistry at Fairview High School, where he was the laboratory assistant. There, he placed first in the 1938 district scholarship and fourth in Ohio. At
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
in West Lafayette, Indiana, Eicher continued his chemistry studies, obtaining a B.S. degree in 1942. While an undergraduate, he prepared sulfamic acid, used in the preparation of various sulfa drugs at Johns Hopkins University; he collected scrap iron for the war effort. He served as laboratory assistant in mineralogy for the Purdue School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering.


Career

Moving to the
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
in Columbus, Eicher helped in the preparation of aviation gasoline components such as triptane, a reference compound, which was sent to the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
during the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
. He joined 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 ...
in 1943, later serving as an assistant secretary and as a councilor. In mid-1943 Eicher joined the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in New York, working first with
Willard Libby Willard Frank Libby (December 17, 1908 – September 8, 1980) was an American physical chemist noted for his role in the 1949 development of radiocarbon dating, a process which revolutionized archaeology and palaeontology. For his contributio ...
(1908–1980), Nobel Laureate in 1960; then with Harold C. Urey (1893–1981), chair of the chemistry department and 1934 Nobel Laureate; with John R. Dunning (1907–1975), dean of engineering; and with Leslie R. Groves (1896–1970), major general, commanding the Manhattan Engineer District. There Eicher worked on the synthesis of
fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often have distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Several fluorocarbons and their derivatives are ...
s used as lubricants, as plastics such as Teflon. He then worked on pilot plant tests for the enrichment of uranium-235. Finally, Eicher spent two years along with colleague Albert L. Myerson (1919–2004) constructing and operating a gas viscosimeter used to study uranium hexafluoride at various temperatures and pressures, the data from which were used in the production of uranium isotopes at the large gaseous diffusion plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Returning to
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
in 1945 for graduate studies, Eicher taught organic technic and qualitative analysis for six years as an assistant instructor. He became a longtime chapter secretary for the
Phi Lambda Upsilon Phi Lambda Upsilon National Honorary Chemical Society () was founded in 1899 at the Noyes Laboratory of the University of Illinois. Phi Lambda Upsilon was the first honor society dedicated to scholarship in a single discipline, chemistry. Objec ...
national chemistry honorary, and a member of the research Society of the Sigma Xi. With colleague Alec Kelley (1923–2013), he founded a Unitarian fellowship which later became the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Lafayette, Indiana. Eicher then worked on the preparation of various nitro and oximino compounds to earn his Ph.D. in 1952. One of his dissertation advisors was Herbert C. Brown (1912–2004), 1979 Nobel Laureate. Eicher often visited with his friend Linus C. Pauling (1901–1994), who won two Nobel Prizes, one for chemistry in 1954 and the Peace Prize in 1962. Eicher joined the chemistry department at
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
in
Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...
, in 1952, and he subsequently taught chemistry there for 37 years. In 1953 he organized a student and faculty liberal religious club at Miami which became a Unitarian Fellowship and later evolved into the Hopedale Unitarian-Universalist Community.


Personal life

On June 12, 1957, Eicher married Susan Ann Arne (1923–1983), a sociologist and legal secretary, in Sarasota, Florida. They had two children, Nancy Grace Eicher (1959– ), a journalist and editor, and David John Eicher (1961– ), astronomer and historian. Eicher and his son
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
collaborated on a number of books focusing on the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, including ''Civil War High Commands''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eicher, John H. 1921 births 2016 deaths American organic chemists Manhattan Project people Writers from Dayton, Ohio Scientists from Ohio Columbia University faculty Miami University faculty Purdue University alumni Historians of the American Civil War Philosophers of science