Charles Browne

August 12, 1870 (age 76)

Charles Browne's first offer of employment, from an analytical laboratory in New York City, tipped the balance in favor of chemistry. In 1895 he went to Pennsylvania State College as assistant in the chemistry laboratory and a year later became chemist at the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station, where he was able to pursue his interest in agricultural chemistry. His next employment was as a research chemist at the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station in New Orleans. His work there was so successful that in 1906 he was appointed chief of the Sugar Division in the Bureau of Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture in Washington. Here he was closely associated with Harvey W. Wiley, head of the bureau. Browne resigned a year later, however, to establish the New York Sugar Trade Laboratory, set up by the sugar industry to test imported cane sugar for producers and refiners as a means of quality control. He continued as director until 1923, when he returned to the Department of Agriculture as chief of the Bureau of Chemistry. When the combined Bureau of Chemistry and Soils was set up in 1927, Browne became chief of chemical and technological research (after 1935, supervisor of chemical research). He retired in 1940. In 1908 Browne began the second of his major activities, the study of the history of chemistry. As might have been expected from his classical background, he began with several papers on Greek philosophy and science, but he soon combined his scientific and historical interests to write on early phases of agriculture. During the decade from 1910 to 1920 he built up an excellent library on historical subjects and started to devote himself chiefly to the history of chemistry in America. This brought him into contact with Edgar Fahs Smith of the University of Pennsylvania, also an avid book collector and historian of American chemistry. In 1921 the two founded the Division of the History of Chemistry in the American Chemical Society. After Smith's death in 1928, Browne greatly aided the University of Pennsylvania in setting up the Edgar Fahs Smith Collection in the History of Chemistry, a notable research center for historical studies, to which he subsequently donated a large part of his own library. He served as president of the History of Science Society in 1935-1936. When the University of Pennsylvania undertook to publish Chymia, an annual in the history of chemistry, Browne was named editor-in-chief, but failing health limited his activity and he died before the publication of the first issue. Early in 1947 Browne succumbed to a coronary thrombosis and bronchopneumonia at Emergency Hospital in Washington, D. C. He was cremated at Fort Lincoln Cemetery.

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A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Latin Edition)

(This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before ...)

Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys; Volume No.110

( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

Magic squares and cubes

(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

The chemistry of the sugar cane and its products in Louisiana

(This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 Excerpt: ...that an excess of lime decomposes the glucose and amids to a considerable extent and forms acids of a gummy character, and when the lime is largely in excess, the amount of these acids formed is sufficient to increase the gums over 100 per cent, thus more than doubling the amount of the most objectionable impurities in the juice. and at the same time darkening it by their presence. Besides this, which of itself is sufficient to condemn liming to alkalinity, the excess of lime acting upon the albuminoids (which are largely removed by heat alone, though aided by the addition of lime) converts them into amids, which remain in the juice, and further acting on these amids, decomposes them into organic acids and ammonia. The results of both these actions bring back into solution impurities that have been removed and are decidedly disastrous in sugar manufacture. By leaving the juice slightly acid there was no addition of impurities. but the amount removed was not as great as that in the neutral clarification. The gums, of which a larger quantity is removed in the acid clarification given here than in the The excess of lime resulted in a destruction of over 15 per cent reducing sugars with a corresponding increase in the percentage of gums and combined acids. This action of lime seems to have continued as long as the products of the juice were Worked in the sugar house, as it will be noted that there is a marked falling ofi in the glucose ratio with each boiling. The concentration of mineral matter in the final products resulted in the precipitation of much calcium phosphate, causing a marked turbidity in the final molasses, and giving rise to a large amount of insoluble mineral matte'r in the third sugars (not reported in the table). The excess of lime resulted i...

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis; A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories

(This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 Excerpt: ...of Sugars with Dilute Alcohol.--Bryan, Given and Straughn have recently made experiments upon the extraction of sugars from grains and similar products, using as solvents 50 per cent alcohol and 0.2 per cent sodium-carbonate solution. Both of these solvents inhibit the action of enzymes and were found to give concordant results upon certain classes of products. In many cases, however, the sodium-carbonate extraction gave much higher amounts of reducing sugar after inversion--a result, perhaps, of the solvent action of the alkali upon pentosans and other hemicelluloses. Bryan, Given and Straughn believe that extraction with 50 per cent alcohol, all points considered, is the most reliable method for general sugar work. The method outlined by them is as follows: Method of Bryan, Given and Straughn.--Place 12 gms. of the finely ground substance in a 300-c.c. graduated flask, adding, in case the material is acid, from 1 to 3 gms. of precipitated calcium carbonate. Add 150 c.c. of neutral alcohol of 50 per cent volume strength; mix thoroughly and boil on a hot-water bath for 1 hour, placing a small funnel in the neck of the flask to condense the vapor. Cool and make up to 300 c.c. with neutral 95 per cent alcohol. After mixing and settling transfer 200 c.c. of the clear solution to a distilling flask and distil off the excess of alcohol, which is thus recovered for future use. The liquid residue is evaporated to a volume of 20 to 30 c.c. (but not to dryness), and then washed with water into a 100-c.c. graduated flask. The solution is clarified with the necessary amount of neutral leadacetate solution, and, after standing 15 minutes, made up to 100 c.c. Pass through a folded filter, carefully saving all of the filtrate, to which add enough anhydrous sodium carbona...

Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V2

(A Practical And Descriptive Treatise For Use In Research,...)

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical an...)

Sugar Tables for Laboratory Use

(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)

A history of the American Chemical Society,: Seventy-five eventful years,

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories

( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys: Including a Microscopical Study of Honey Pollen (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from Chemical Analysis and Composition of America...)

Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V1

(A Practical And Descriptive Treatise For Use In Research,...)

Elder John Leland and the mammoth Cheshire cheese

Charles Albert Browne Edit Profile

chemist scientist

Background

Charles Albert Browne was born on August 12, 1870 in North Adams, Massachussets, the oldest of five children, two of them boys, of Charles Albert and Susan (MacCallum) Browne. Both parents were natives of Massachusetts; the father was descended from the Rev. Chad Browne, who came to Boston from England in 1638.

A tradition of scientific inventiveness was part of the family heritage; through his paternal grandmother, Browne was related to Benjamin Talbot Babbitt and Isaac Babbitt.

His father, trained as a bookkeeper, was a self-taught chemist and inventor who devised and manufactured a successful electric blasting fuse. Although blinded in a chemical explosion the year before his son's birth, he continued an active interest in business, inventing, and--through the family farm--agriculture.

Education

Young Charles attended Drury Academy in North Adams and Williams College, from which he received the B. A. degree in 1892. While in college he developed a strong interest in Greek and upon graduation considered following a career in either chemistry or the classics.

Going to Germany for further study, Browne enrolled in 1900 at the University of Gottingen, where Bernhard Tollens had built up an outstanding center for the study of agricultural chemistry and plant physiology. Under Tollens' direction, Browne began his investigations of sugar chemistry and received the Ph. D. degree in 1902.

Career

Charles Browne's first offer of employment, from an analytical laboratory in New York City, tipped the balance in favor of chemistry. In 1895 he went to Pennsylvania State College as assistant in the chemistry laboratory and a year later became chemist at the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station, where he was able to pursue his interest in agricultural chemistry.

His next employment was as a research chemist at the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station in New Orleans. His work there was so successful that in 1906 he was appointed chief of the Sugar Division in the Bureau of Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture in Washington. Here he was closely associated with Harvey W. Wiley, head of the bureau.

Browne resigned a year later, however, to establish the New York Sugar Trade Laboratory, set up by the sugar industry to test imported cane sugar for producers and refiners as a means of quality control.

He continued as director until 1923, when he returned to the Department of Agriculture as chief of the Bureau of Chemistry. When the combined Bureau of Chemistry and Soils was set up in 1927, Browne became chief of chemical and technological research (after 1935, supervisor of chemical research). He retired in 1940.

In 1908 Browne began the second of his major activities, the study of the history of chemistry. As might have been expected from his classical background, he began with several papers on Greek philosophy and science, but he soon combined his scientific and historical interests to write on early phases of agriculture. During the decade from 1910 to 1920 he built up an excellent library on historical subjects and started to devote himself chiefly to the history of chemistry in America. This brought him into contact with Edgar Fahs Smith of the University of Pennsylvania, also an avid book collector and historian of American chemistry.

In 1921 the two founded the Division of the History of Chemistry in the American Chemical Society. After Smith's death in 1928, Browne greatly aided the University of Pennsylvania in setting up the Edgar Fahs Smith Collection in the History of Chemistry, a notable research center for historical studies, to which he subsequently donated a large part of his own library. He served as president of the History of Science Society in 1935-1936.

When the University of Pennsylvania undertook to publish Chymia, an annual in the history of chemistry, Browne was named editor-in-chief, but failing health limited his activity and he died before the publication of the first issue. Early in 1947 Browne succumbed to a coronary thrombosis and bronchopneumonia at Emergency Hospital in Washington, D. C. He was cremated at Fort Lincoln Cemetery.

Achievements

Charles Browne was one of the founders of the Division of the History of Chemistry in the American Chemical Society. In 1928, Browne successfully aided the University of Pennsylvania in setting up the Edgar Fahs Smith Collection in the History of Chemistry, a notable research center for historical studies, to which he subsequently donated a large part of his own library. His other achievement was when he was appointed and served as president of the History of Science Society in 1935-1936. Browne was a prolific writer, and the list of his publications runs into the hundreds. His books ranged from A Handbook of Sugar Analysis (1912) to Thomas Jefferson and the Scientific Trends of His Time (1943). His crowning achievement, however, was probably A Source Book of Agricultural Chemistry (1944), which combined his classical, historical, and scientific interests.

Works

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Latin Edition) A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Latin Edition)

Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys; Volume No.110 Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys; Volume No.110

Magic squares and cubes Magic squares and cubes

The chemistry of the sugar cane and its products in Louisiana The chemistry of the sugar cane and its products in Louisiana

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis; A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories A Handbook of Sugar Analysis; A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories

Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V2 Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V2

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Classic Reprint) A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Classic Reprint)

Sugar Tables for Laboratory Use Sugar Tables for Laboratory Use

A history of the American Chemical Society,: Seventy-five eventful years, A history of the American Chemical Society,: Seventy-five eventful years,

Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys: Including a Microscopical Study of Honey Pollen (Classic Reprint) Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys: Including a Microscopical Study of Honey Pollen (Classic Reprint)

Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V1 Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V1

book
- A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Classic Reprint)
  (Excerpt from A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical an...)
- Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys: Including a Microscopical Study of Honey Pollen (Classic Reprint)
  (Excerpt from Chemical Analysis and Composition of America...)
- Sugar Tables for Laboratory Use
  (Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
- Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys; Volume No.110
  ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
- A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories
  ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
- Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V2
  (A Practical And Descriptive Treatise For Use In Research,...)
- Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V1
  (A Practical And Descriptive Treatise For Use In Research,...)
- A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Latin Edition)
  (This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before ...)
- The chemistry of the sugar cane and its products in Louisiana
  (This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)
- A Handbook of Sugar Analysis; A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories
  (This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)
- Magic squares and cubes
  (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
- Elder John Leland and the mammoth Cheshire cheese
- A history of the American Chemical Society,: Seventy-five eventful years,

Religion

Browne was a Unitarian.

Views

Most of Browne's own scientific research was concerned with the chemistry of sugar, a field in which he was a recognized authority. His interests extended, however, to general problems of agricultural biochemistry. He made many studies of the function of enzymes in agricultural products. He also investigated the economic phases of agriculture, such as the loss of sugar (and hence of nutritive value) in hay and the prevention of spontaneous combustion in this crop. In the study of plant nutrition, he was an early advocate of greater emphasis on foliary diagnosis and the effect of trace elements. To augment his research, he made many trips throughout the world to investigate agricultural procedures and policies.

Membership

Charles Browne was a member of the Division of the History of Chemistry in the American Chemical Society.

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

Browne has been described as "an exact, painstaking, and very systematic worker" with a "charming and rather complex personality" and a lively sense of humor. "He had a cool logical mind with oddly warm corners in it".

Connections

On February 9, 1918, Browne married Louise McDanell of Gallatin County, Kentucky, a graduate of Stanford who had recently completed the Ph. D. in physiological chemistry at Yale. They had one daughter, Caroline Louise.

Father:: Charles Albert Browne
Mother:: Susan (MacCallum) Browne
collaborator:: Edgar Fahs Smith
Wife:: Louise McDanell
Daughter:: Caroline Louise
ancestor:: Chad Browne
associate:: Harvey Washington Wiley

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Charles Browne

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book

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Latin Edition)

Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys; Volume No.110

Magic squares and cubes

The chemistry of the sugar cane and its products in Louisiana

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis; A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories

Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V2

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories (Classic Reprint)

Sugar Tables for Laboratory Use

A history of the American Chemical Society,: Seventy-five eventful years,

A Handbook of Sugar Analysis: A Practical and Descriptive Treatise for Use in Research, Technical and Control Laboratories

Chemical Analysis and Composition of American Honeys: Including a Microscopical Study of Honey Pollen (Classic Reprint)

Physical And Chemical Methods Of Sugar Analysis, V1

Charles Albert Browne Edit Profile

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Views

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