Herbert C. Brown

Infobox Scientist
name = Herbert Charles Brown

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image_width = 150px
birth_date = May 22, 1912
birth_place = London, England, UK
death_date = December 19, 2004
death_place = Lafayette, Indiana, USA
nationality = USA
field = Chemistry
work_institutions = University of Chicago,
Purdue University
alma_mater = University of Chicago
doctoral_advisor = Hermann Irving Schlesinger
doctoral_students =
known_for = Organoboranes
author_abbrev_bot =
author_abbrev_zoo =
influences =
influenced =
prizes = Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1979
Priestley Medal 1981
Perkin Medal 1982
religion =
footnotes =

Herbert Charles Brown (May 22, 1912 – December 19, 2004) was a chemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate for his work with organoboranes

Brown was born Herbert Brovarnik in London to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. He moved to the United States in June 1914, at the age of two.cite web
author = Wilhelm Odelberg
title = Herbert C. Brown: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1979
work = Les Prix Nobel
publisher = Nobel Foundation
date = 1979
url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1979/brown-autobio.html
accessdate = 2007-08-27] In autumn 1935, he entered the University of Chicago, completed two years of studies in three quarters, and earned a B.S. in 1936. That same year, he became a naturalized US citizen.cite web
title = Herbert C. Brown
work = Notable Names Database
publisher= Soylent Communications
url = http://www.nndb.com/people/625/000100325/
accessdate = 2007-08-27] On February 6, 1937, Brown married Sarah Baylen, the person he credits with making him interested in hydrides of boron, a topic related to the work in which he with Georg Wittig won the Nobel prize in Chemistry in 1979. Two years after starting graduate studies, he earned a Ph.D. in 1938, also from the University of Chicago. Unable to find a position in industry, he decided to accept an offer for a position as a post-doctorate. This became the beginning of his academic career. He became an Instructor at the University of Chicago in 1939, and held the position for four years before moving to Wayne University in Detroit as an Assistant Professor. In 1946, he was promoted to an Associate Professor. He became a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Purdue University in 1947cite web
title = Biography of Herbert C. Brown
publisher = Purdue University
date = 2001
url = http://www.chem.purdue.edu/people/HCBrown/default.asp
accessdate = 2007-08-27] and joined Alpha Chi Sigma there in 1960.cite web
title = Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame
publisher = Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity
url = http://www.alphachisigma.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=268&srcid=273
accessdate = 2008-01-07] He held the position of Professor Emeritus from 1978 until his death in 2004. The "Herbert C. Brown Laboratory of Chemistry" was named after him on Purdue University's campus. He was an honorary member of the International Academy of Science.

During World War II, while working with Hermann Irving Schlesinger, Brown discovered a method for producing sodium borohydride (NaBH₄), which can be used to produce boranes, compounds of boron and hydrogen. His work led to the discovery of the first general method for producing asymmetric pure enantiomers. The elements found as initials of his name H, C and B were his working field.

Brown was quick to credit his wife Sarah with supporting him and allowing him to focus on creative efforts by handling finances, maintaining the house and yard, etc. According to Brown, after receiving the Nobel prize in Stockholm, he carried the medal and she carried the US$100,000 award.

He died December 19, 2004, at a hospital in Lafayette, Indiana after a heart attack. Surviving are his son and his granddaughters.

References

External links

* [http://www.nobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/1979/brown-autobio.html Herbert Brown biography] at the Nobel Foundation from "Les Prix Nobel", 1979
* [http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/8251/8251brown12_23.html Herbert Brown obituary] in Chemical & Engineering News
* [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2004-12-21-hbrown-obit_x.htm Herbert Brown obituary] in USA Today