Henry Taube

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Henry Taube bigraphy, stories - American chemist

Henry Taube : biography

November 30, 1915 – November 16, 2005

Henry Taube, Ph.D, M.Sc, B.Sc, FRSC (November 30, 1915 – November 16, 2005) was a Canadian-born American chemist noted for having been awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "his work in the mechanisms of electron-transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes." He was the first Canadian-born chemist to win the Nobel Prize. Taube completed his undergraduate and Masters degrees at the University of Saskatchewan, and his Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley. After finishing graduate school, Taube worked at Cornell University, the University of Chicago and Stanford University.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Taube also received many other major scientific awards, including the Priestley Medal in 1985 and two Guggenheim Fellowships early in his career (1949 and 1955), as well as numerous honorary doctorates. His research focused on redox reactions, transition metals and the use of isotopically labeled compounds to follow reactions. He had over 600 publications including one book, and had mentored over 200 students during his career. Taube and his wife Mary had three children, his son Karl is an anthropologist at the University of California Riverside.

Publications

  • Taube, H., Jackson, J. A. & J. F. Lemons. , Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (1962).
  • Taube, H. , University of Chicago, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (September 24, 1962).
  • Taube, H. & A. Viste. , University of Chicago, Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (1966).
  • Taube, H. , Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (April 3, 1972).

Category:1915 births Category:2005 deaths Category:Inorganic chemists Category:American chemists Category:American Nobel laureates Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States Category:Canadian expatriate academics in the United States Category:Canadian Nobel laureates Category:Cornell University faculty Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Category:Guggenheim Fellows Category:National Medal of Science laureates Category:Members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:University of Saskatchewan alumni Category:Recipients of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) Category:Foreign Members of the Royal Society Category:People from Neudorf, Saskatchewan Category:Luther College (Saskatchewan) alumni Category:Signers of the Humanist Manifesto Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences

Education

At 12, Taube left his hometown and moved to Regina to attend Luther College where he completed high school. After graduating, Taube stayed at Luther College and worked as laboratory assistant for Paul Liefeld, allowing him to take first year university classes. Taube attended the University of Saskatchewan, receiving his B.Sc in 1935 and his M.Sc in 1937. His thesis advisor at the University of Saskatchewan was John Spinks. While at the University of Saskatchewan, Taube studied with Gerhard Herzberg, who would be awarded the 1971 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He moved to University of California, Berkeley, where he completed his Ph.D studies in 1940. His Ph.D mentor was William Bray. Taube’s graduate research focused on the photodecomposition of chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide in solution.

Personal life

Taube was born November 30, 1915 in Neudorf, Saskatchewan as the youngest of four boys. His parents had immigrated to Saskatchewan from the Ukraine in 1911. Growing up, his first language was Low German. In the 1700s, Catherine the Great encouraged Central European farmers to settle in Russia. As the rights afforded to these settlers by Catherine were gradually diminished, many of the settlers headed to North America, with Saskatchewan offering good farmland, and other incentives for immigrants. Taube reflected fondly on his experiences growing up in Saskatchewan, noting: "Certainly, there is nothing about my first 21 years in Saskatchewan, taken in the context of those times that I would wish to be changed. The advantages that I enjoyed include: the marvelous experience of growing up on a farm, which taught me an appreciation of nature, and taught me also to discipline myself to get necessary jobs done…"