Gerhard Herzberg | |
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 Gerhard Herzberg, London 1952 | |
| Born | Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg December 25, 1904 |
| Died | March 3, 1999(1999-03-03) (aged 94) |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Alma mater | Technische Universität Darmstadt |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | physical chemist |
| Institutions | Carleton University,National Research Council of Canada,University of Saskatchewan,University of Chicago |
| Doctoral advisor | Hans Rau [de] |
| Doctoral students | Takeshi Oka |
Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg,PC CC FRSC FRS[1] (German:[ˈɡeːɐ̯.haʁtˈhɛʁt͡sˌbɛʁk]ⓘ; December 25, 1904 – March 3, 1999) was a German-Canadian pioneeringphysicist andphysical chemist, who won theNobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, particularly free radicals".[2] Herzberg's main work concerned atomic and molecularspectroscopy. He is well known for using these techniques that determine the structures ofdiatomic andpolyatomic molecules, includingfree radicals which are difficult to investigate in any other way, and for the chemical analysis of astronomical objects. Herzberg served as Chancellor ofCarleton University inOttawa,Canada from 1973 to 1980.
Herzberg was born inHamburg, Germany on December 25, 1904 to Albin H. Herzberg and Ella Biber.[3] He had an older brother, Walter, who was born in January 1904.[4] Herzberg startedVorschule (pre-school) late, after contracting measles.[5] Gerhard and his family were atheists and kept this fact hidden.[4] His father died in 1914, at 43 years of age, after having suffered fromdropsy and complications due to an earlier heart condition. Herzberg graduated Vorschule shortly after his father's death.[6] He marriedLuise Herzberg (née Oettinger), a spectroscopist and fellow researcher in 1929. (Luise Herzberg, died in 1971.)
In 1933, theNazi Party introduced a law banning men with Jewish wives from teaching at universities. Herzberg was working as a lecturer at the university inDarmstadt. His wife and fellow researcher, Luise Herzberg, was Jewish so they began making plans to leave Germany near the end of 1933. Leaving Germany was a daunting task as many barriers faced the thousands of Germans trying to flee Nazi persecution. However Herzberg had earlier worked with a visiting physical chemist named John Spinks, from theUniversity of Saskatchewan. Spinks helped Herzberg get a job at the university in Saskatoon. When Herzberg and his wife left Germany in 1935, the Nazis let them take only the equivalent of $2.50 each and personal belongings.[3]
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Initially, Herzberg considered a career inastronomy, but his application to theHamburg Observatory was returned advising him not to pursue a career in the field without private financial support.[7] After completing high school at theGelehrtenschule des Johanneums, Herzberg continued his education atDarmstadt University of Technology with the help of a private scholarship.[7][8][9] Herzberg completed his Dr.-Ing. degree underHans Rau [de] in 1928.[7]
Herzberg's most significant award was the 1971Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which he was awarded "for his contributions to the knowledge of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, particularly free radicals".[2] During the presentation speech, it was noted that at the time of the award, Herzberg was "generally considered to be the world's foremost molecular spectroscopist."[16]
Herzberg was honoured with memberships or fellowships by a very large number of scientific societies, received many awards and honorary degrees in different countries. TheNSERCGerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, Canada's highest research award, was named in his honour in 2000. TheCanadian Association of Physicists also has an annual award named in his honour. TheHerzberg Institute of Astrophysics is named for him. He was made a member of theInternational Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. Asteroid3316 Herzberg is named after him. In 1964 he was awarded theFrederic Ives Medal by theOSA. He was later named an Honorary Member of the Society.[17] At Carleton University, there is a building named after him that belongs to the Physics and Mathematics/Statistics Departments, Herzberg Laboratories. Herzberg was elected aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1951.[1]
The main building ofJohn Abbott College inMontreal is named after him. Carleton University named the Herzberg Laboratories building after him. A public park in theCollege Park neighbourhood ofSaskatoon also bears his name.
Herzberg authored some classic works in the field of spectroscopy, includingAtomic Spectra and Atomic Structure and the encyclopaedic four volume work:Molecular Spectra and Molecular Structure, which is often called the spectroscopist's bible.[4] The three volumes of Molecular Spectra and Molecular Structure were re-issued by Krieger in 1989, including extensive new footnotes by Herzberg. Volume IV of the series, "Constants of diatomic molecules" is purely a reference work, a compendium of known spectroscopic constants (and therefore a bibliography of molecular spectroscopy) of diatomic molecules up until 1978.
There are Gerhard Herzbergfonds atLibrary and Archives Canada and atNational Research Council Canada.[18][19]
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including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1971Spectroscopic Studies of Molecular Structure| Professional and academic associations | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Royal Society of Canada 1966–1967 | Succeeded by |
