KOLBE, HERMANN

born Sept. 27, 1818, Elliehausen, near Gttingen, Hanover died Nov. 25, 1884, Leipzig, Ger. in full Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe German chemist who accomplished the first generally accepted synthesis of an organic compound from inorganic materials. After studying chemistry with Friedrich Whler, Kolbe became an assistant to Robert Bunsen at the University of Marburg in 1842. Subsequently he assisted Lyon Playfair at the University of London and from 1847 to 1851 was engaged in editing the Handwrterbuch der reinen und angewandten Chemie (Dictionary of Pure and Applied Chemistry) written by Justus von Liebig and Whler. Kolbe then succeeded Bunsen at Marburg, and in 1865 he went to the University of Leipzig. Kolbe believed that organic compounds could be derived from inorganic ones, directly or indirectly, by substitution processes. He validated his theory by converting carbon disulfide, in several steps, to acetic acid (184345). Introducing a modified idea of structural radicals, he contributed to the establishment of structural theory. He also predicted the existence of secondary and tertiary alcohols. He worked on the electrolysis of the salts of fatty and other acids and prepared salicylic acid, a building block of aspirin. With Sir Edward Frankland he found that nitriles can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding acids. As editor of the Journal fr praktische Chemie (from 1869), he was sometimes severely critical of the work of others.