Herman Schlundt
{{Short description|American chemist (1869–1937)}}
Herman Schlundt (19 July 1869 in Two Rivers, Wisconsin – 1937) was a physical chemist from the United States. He is most well known for extracting and refining radioactive metals from low-grade ore and industrial waste during his time as a researcher, which have had modern implications. Two buildings were named in his honor on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Missouri.{{cite news |last1=Abbot |first1=Jeanne |title=Radium game: The life and legacy of Herman Schlundt |url=https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/radium-game-the-life-and-legacy-of-herman-schlundt/article_847c98a7-5be7-53dd-a61e-5a2df15ebdfc.html |access-date=29 June 2021 |work=Missourian |date=19 July 2013}}
Biography
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1894 and took his Ph.D. at the University of Leipzig in 1901. He was for a time connected with the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, and from 1902 was associated with that of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where he was professor of physical chemistry in 1907–13, and chairman of the department of chemistry in 1910–15.{{Americana|wstitle=Schlundt, Herman|year=1920|inline=1}}
After 1924, he and William McGavock fabricated a laboratory for the refining of mesothorium (from monazite ore) and radium (from discarded watch dials). It was a unique source of thorium and was resorted to by many noted scientists, for example Marie Curie. The lab received national press notice in 1930 and shortly thereafter closed.{{Cite journal|journal=Columbia Business Times|page=6|volume=16|issue=25|date=July 10, 2010|url=http://www.columbiabusinesstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/16_25.pdf|title=MU lab explosion a reminder of experimental dangers|location=Columbia, Missouri|access-date=March 25, 2011|archive-date=October 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002081955/http://www.columbiabusinesstimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/16_25.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{Cite journal|journal=The Columbia Missourian|title=Chemistry Students Refine Radium from Watch Dials|date=October 16, 1930}} Cited and reproduced in the Columbia Business Times article. According to the latter source, this Columbia Missourian article appeared later in The New York Times on October 19.
Legacy
Despite being dead for over 80 years, the activities undertaken as a researcher have had ongoing environmental impact. Pickard Hall on the University of Missouri campus was found to be contaminated with radiation (where Schlundt conducted his work in the early 20th century). The problem first rose to awareness in the 1970s, and the building was eventually closed to the public in 2013 in an attempt to clean the building. The hall was ultimately scheduled to be demolished in 2019 after no method to clear the radioactivity could be found.{{cite news |last1=Kiely|first1=Kathy |title=MU's Pickard Hall to be demolished after a decade of radiation testing |url=https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/higher_education/mu-s-pickard-hall-to-be-demolished-after-a-decade-of-radiation-testing/article_351de396-0588-11ea-82c8-2f57b8e90c8c.html |access-date=29 June 2021 |work=Missourian |date=14 November 2019}}
References
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External links
- {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/laboratoryexperi00schliala|title=Laboratory experiments in general chemistry|author=Herman Schlundt|year=1912|location=Columbia, Missouri|edition=2nd|publisher=E.W. Stephens Publishing Company}}
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Category:People from Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Category:Scientists from Columbia, Missouri
Category:American physical chemists
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Category:Leipzig University alumni
Category:University of Missouri faculty
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Category:Scientists from Wisconsin