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| I. The Early Days |
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| 1861 |
- MIT is founded by William Barton Rogers, formerly Professor of Natural
Philosophy and Chemistry at William and Mary College, and Professor
of Natural Philosophy at University of Virginia.
|
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| William Barton Rogers |
|
| 1865 |
- MIT holds its first chemistry classes (15 students) in Boston. Two
faculty members include Francis H. Storer and Charles W. Eliot.
|
|
| 1866 |
- Professor Cyrus Warren is the first professor of organic chemistry.
- The Rogers Building is completed in Boston. Chemistry Department
and its laboratories are located in the basement.
|
|
| 1869 |
- The Lowell Institute begins holding evening classes including
chemistry open to the public, men and women.
- Professor Eliot leaves to become President of Harvard University.
Professor Storer follows him to Harvard. Eliot attempts "takeover" of
MIT.
|
|
| 1870 |
- James Mason Crafts starts as professor of analytic and organic
chemistry. He leaves MIT in 1874 for a 17-year stay in Paris
where he develops the Friedel-Crafts reaction.
- Ellen Swallow, the first woman in the chemistry department,
receives her B.Sc. degree in 1873. She marries Professor Robert
Richards of MIT in 1875.
|
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| Ellen Swallow Richards |
|
| 1876 |
- The Women's Laboratory (non-degree until 1883 when women could
become degree candidates) is founded by Ellen Swallow Richards
to give women laboratory training in chemistry.
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| 1884 |
- The M.Sc. degree program is started at MIT.
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| 1888 |
- Professor Lewis M. Norton founds the first course in chemical engineering
in the Chemistry Department.
|
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| II. MIT around the Turn of the Century |
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1890
|
- Professor Henry P. Talbot, professor of analytical chemistry,
starts first course in physical chemistry (Dept. Head 190-1921).
Arthur Amos Noyes ('86) joins Chemistry Department as assistant
professor.
|
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| A. Noyes |
|
| 1892 |
- Professor Crafts returns to MIT as professor of organic chemistry.
He serves as MIT president from 1897 to 1900.
|
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| James Mason Crafts |
|
| 1895 |
- Professor Noyes starts "Systematic Review of American
Chemical Research", the precursor of "Chemical Abstracts" (1907).
|
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| 1901 |
- Gilbert Newton Lewis joins Chemistry Department. He departs
for Univ. of California at Berkeley in 1912.
|
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| 1903 |
- Professor Noyes founds world-famous Research Laboratory in
Physical Chemistry.
|
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| 1907 |
- The first three MIT Ph.D.s are awarded to students of the Laboratory
in Physical Chemistry.
|
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| 1908 |
- Professor William Walker founds the Research Laboratory of
Applied Chemistry.
|
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| III. MIT Moves to Cambridge |
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1916
|
- MIT moves from the Back Bay in Boston across the river to Cambridge
(made possible by gifts of T. Coleman duPont and George Eastman).
Chemistry professors at the time include: Frederick G. Keyes
(physical chemistry and Department Head (1922 - 1945), Arthur
A. Blanchard (inorganic chemistry), Forris Jewett Moore (organic
chemistry), James Flack Norris (organic chemistry and Director
of Research Laboratory of Organic Chemistry).
|
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| 1919 |
- Professor Noyes leaves MIT to found Gates Chemical Laboratory
at California Institute of Technology.
|
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| IV. The Keyes Era (1922-1945) |
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1922
|
- Between 1922 and 1945 notable chemistry professors include:
George Scatchard (physical chemistry), Avery A. Ashdown (organic
chemistry), Avery A. Morton (organic chemistry), James A. Beattie
(physical chemistry), Walter C. Schumb (inorganic chemistry),
Leicester F. Hamilton (analytical chemistry and longtime Executive
Officer), Isadore Amdur (physical chemistry), Walter Stockmayer
(physical chemistry).
|
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| F. Keyes |
|
| 1932 |
- The Eastman Laboratories for chemistry
and physics are completed.
|
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1932-
1937 |
- Robert B. Woodward, Nobel Laureate 1965 is an undergraduate
and graduate student at MIT.
|
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| V. The Cope Era (1945-1964) |
|
1945
|
- Arthur C. Cope comes from Columbia University to become Chemistry
Department Head
- Many new faculty join the department between 1945 and 1964
including: Charles D. Coryell (inorganic and radiochemistry),
Richard C. Lord (physical chemistry), John C. Sheehan (organic
chemistry), David Hume (analytical chemistry), John D. Roberts
(organic chemistry), C. Gardner Swain (organic chemistry), Lockhart
B. Rogers (analytical chemistry), George Büchi (organic
chemistry), and David Shoemaker (physical chemistry)
|
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| Arthur C. Cope |
|
1962-
1963 |
- There are significant changes to the undergraduate chemistry
curriculum. The 2-semester freshman chemistry lecture/lab course
is modified, and a new sequence of lab courses is developed.
|
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| VI. After Cope: 1964
to present |
|
1968-
1969
|
- Construction begins on the Dreyfus Building to house organic, organometallic, and biological chemistry research laboratories.
|
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| Dreyfus Building |
|
| 1970 |
- Biological chemistry is developed as a new research
direction. Professor Gobind Khorana joins the department. Other
biological chemists join the department including Christopher
Walsh, 1972;
Gregory Pesko, 1978; William Orme-Johnson, 1980; and Joanne
Stubbe,
1987.
|
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| 1988 |
- The Department of Applied Biology is
discontinued and several faculty receive appointments in the Chemistry Department including
Professors Klibanov, Essigmann, Wogan, and Tannenbaum.
|
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| 1995 |
- Professor Mario Molina shares Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on formation and decomposition of the ozone layer.
- Stephen J. Lippard appointed
Department Head and spearheads fund-raising campaign to support
renovation of all research laboratories in the department.
|
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| Mario Molina |
|
1998-
2000 |
- Renovation of physical chemistry laboratories (1999) and inorganic chemistry laboratories (2000) in Building 6.
|
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| 2003 |
- Major reconstruction of Dreyfus Building completed.
|
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| 2005 |
- Professor Richard
R. Schrock shares Nobel Prize in Chemistry for development
of the metathesis method in organic synthesis.
- Professor Stephen J. Lippard
receives National Medal of Science.
|
Richard Schrock |
 Stephen
J. Lippard |
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