Dr. Homer Burton Adkins, Ph.D. was born on 16 JAN 1892 in Newport, Ohio and died on 10 AUG 1949 in Madison, WI.
World authority on the hydrogenation of organic compounds; studied the catalytic action of metal oxides in the hydrogenation of esters to alcohols, developing the copper chromite catalyst in the process; developed new methods for preparing catalysts by heating various aluminum alkoxides, thus obtaining aluminum oxides with different spacings; coined the word hydrogenolysis to describe processes in which hydrogen reacts on the catalyst surface to split off two new molecules; investigated comparative reactivities, particularly the relation of structure, oxidation potential, and other chemical and physical properties; during WWII, involved in work on vesicants, lachrymators, sternutators, detoxifying agents (esp. protective clothing and ointment for use against vesicants) and anti-malarial agents.
1. American Chemists and Chemical Engineers; Miles, W. D., Ed.; American Chemical Society: 1976; vol. 1, p5-7.
2. Dictionary of American Biography; Malone, D., Ed.; Charles Scribner's Sons: 1946-1950; suppl. Vol. 4, p5-7.
3. Biog. Mem. Nat. Acad. Sci. 1952, 27, 293-317.
4. Science 1949, 110, 200.
5. Chem. Eng. News 1949, 27, 2436.
Homer married Louisa May Spivey-[144] [MRIN:56] on 21 FEB 1917 in Dayton, Ohio.