Call Number:

005

Repository:

Science History Institute Archives

Extent:

.22 linear feet (1 folder)

Preferred Citation:

Herman Mark Introduction to Polymer Chemistry course notes Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania..

Date:

1955-1957 (inclusive)

Creator:

Mark, H. F. (Herman Francis), 1895-1992

Form:

Archival materials

Abstract:

Herman Mark was one of the commanding figures in the field of polymer chemistry as both a teacher and a consultant. Mark was born on May 3, 1895 in Vienna, Austria. Mark's specialty was x-ray diffraction, which he taught to Linus Pauling. He also helped to verify Einstein's light quantum theory. In 1926 he was hired as an assistant director of research by I.G. Farben but was advised to give this position up upon Hitler's rise to power. He return to Vienna and taught at the University until 1938 when, upon receiving an offer of employment from a Canadian firm, and payment of a large bribe to Nazi officials, he was allowed to leave his homeland. Soon after his arrival in Canada Mark accepted an offer from Brooklyn Polytechnic to join its faculty. He remained there for the remainder of his teaching career, establishing the Polymer Research Institute in 1946 and helping to form the POLY division of the American Chemical Society. He is recognized as a pioneer in the teaching of polymer chemistry and received many awards and honors including the Perkin Medal. Mark died on April 6, 1992.

The bulk of this collection is the extensive class notes taken by Julius Heisler when he studied under Mark at Brooklyn Polytechnic in 1955. In addition, there are two of Heisler's grade cards signed by Mark and a copy of the Mark reprint A Few Principles of Adhesion, published by the Weizmann Science Press of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel in 1957.