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|---|---|
| Born | (1853-12-12)December 12, 1853 Honululu United States |
| Died | February 7, 1925(1925-02-07) (aged 71) United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Heidelberg |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | geochemistry |
| Institutions | United States Geological Survey National Bureau of Standards |
William Francis Hillebrand (December 12 1853 – February 7 1925) was an American chemist. He was the son of the renowned botanist William Hillebrand.
He studied in Germany at the University of Heidelberg and after he received his Ph.D in 1875 he worked with Robert Bunsen for two semesters. His research on metallic cerium which he together with Thomas Norton obtained first in 1872 started his academic career.
He studied organic chemistry for three semesters with Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig at the University of Straßburg, but changed to geochemistry and metallurgy by studying at the Freiberg Mining Academy. After returning home to the United States he started working at the United States Geological Survey in 1880. He changed to the National Bureau of Standards in 1909.
During an analysis of the uranium containing mineral uranite he discovered that a gas evolved. He identified this gas by spectroscopic methods to be nitrogen. Several years later in 1895 William Ramsay did similar experiments with uranium containing minerals and discovered by similar methods that the gas was a mixture of argon and helium which until then had only been detected in the corona of stars.
A reexamination by Ramsay of Hillebrand's samples showed that the gas from uranite contained a large amount of nitrogen.
References
- Frank Wigglesworth Clarke. "William Francis Hillebrand" (PDF). Biographical Memoir of the National Academy of Science.
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