Notable Accidents.

By Prof. James F. Babcock, Boston.

from New Remedies (1882)

Explosion in the Alchemist’s Laboratory
by Justus Gustav van Bentum (source)

[p.1] The following are some of the particulars relating to notable accidents or explosions, by which chemists lost their lives or were seriously injured. These are all of modern dates, for violently explosive substances (chloride of nitrogen, fulminates, etc.) or poisonous gases (chlorine,, arsenetted hydrogen, etc.) were unknown to the ancients, with the single exception of sulphurous vapors, which. Homer2 mentions as a means of fumigation, and which, were employed by the shepherds to bleach their wool, as related by Ovid3

It was by suffocation with this gas that Pliny the Elder lost his life, August 25th, A.D. 79, during an eruption of Vesuvius. The account of the circumstances attending his. death is given by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, in an epistle to Tacitus the historian.4 He tells us that his uncle was in command of the Roman fleet, at Misenum, and that observing a cloud of unusual size and shape arising from the mountains in the direction of Vesuvius, a phenomenon which he deemed worthy of closer investigation, he took his tablets with him, and ordering a light vessel,, proceeded across the bay to Stabile, to the house of his friend Pomponianus, who had already become alarmed, and was making preparations for flight.

Pliny assured his anxious friend that there was no danger, and to show his own sense of security, requested his servants to conduct him to the bath. After the bath he dined, and later, retired to rest and soon fell asleep. “In the mean time,” writes his nephew, “vast sheets of flame and large bodies of fire were to be seen arising from Mt. Vesuvius, the glare and brilliancy of which were beheld in bolder relief as the shades of night came on apace. … The courtyard, which led to his apartment, had now become filled with cinders and pumice-stones to such a degree that, if he had remained any longer in the room, it would have been quite impossible for him to leave it. On being, awoke, he immediately arose and rejoined Pomponianus and the others, who had in the mean time been sitting up. They then consulted together whether it would be better to remain in the house or take their chances in the open air, as the building was rocking to and fro from the violent and repeated shocks, while the walls, as though rooted up from their very foundations, seemed to be at one moment carried in this direction, at another in that. … It was then determined to make for the shore, but the sea was still too boisterous to allow of their making the attempt to embark. Upon this my uncle lay down on a sail which had been spread for him, and more than once asked for some cold water, which he drank. Very soon, however, they were alarmed by the flames, and the sulphurous, smell which announced their approach, upon which the others at once took to flight, while my uncle arose, leaning upon two of the servants for support. Upon making this effort, he instantly fell to the ground; the dense vapor having, I imagine, stopped the respiration and suffocated him, for his chest was naturally weak and contracted, and. often troubled with violent palpitations. When day was at last restored, the third after the closing one of his existence [p.2] his body was found untouched, and without a wound; there was no change to be perceived in the clothes, and its appearance was rather that of a person asleep than of a corpse.”

Passing now to the middle of the last century, we find the case of Lehmann (J. G.), professor of chemistry at the Imperial Museum of St. Petersburg, who died in 1767 from the inhalation of the fumes occasioned by the explosion of a crucible in which an arsenical mixture was being strongly heated.5

In 1788, Berthollet proposed to substitute the chlorate of potassium for the nitrate in the manufacture of gunpowder, and an experiment was made at the government works at Essonne. Twenty pounds of the chlorate were mixed with charcoal, and while the operation was going on, a terrible explosion took place, instantly killing M. Letors, director of the works, and a young lady (Mlle. Chevrand), who had accompanied him. Berthollet and Lavoisier were both present, but escaped injury as by a miracle.6

Pelletier, the elder, in 1790, was severely wounded in both eyes by an explosion produced by the action of nitrous gas upon phosphoretted hydrogen, a mixture which he had incautiously made in a glass receiver.7 Pelletier died at the early age of thirty-six years, of consumption, induced by the breathing of vapors of phosphorus and chlorine— the combinations of these elements with the metals having been a special study with him for several years previous to his death.8

In 1808, Barruel, at that time assistant to Thenard at Paris, had a portion of his right hand blown off, by an explosion of fulminating mercury which he was carelessly rubbing in an agate mortar. The following year (1809), Figuier, professor of chemistry at the school of pharmacy at Montpellier, was the victim of a similar accident. He had prepared for his lecture about sixty grains of fulminating silver, which he had placed in a glass-stoppered bottle. The slight friction developed by the attempt to open the bottle, caused an explosion of the fulminate which destroyed one of the eyes of the unfortunate chemist.

In 1808, Gay-Lussac was preparing potassium on a considerable scale, when a fragment was suddenly projected from the apparatus, and struck him in the eye. He received the care of Dupuytren and for a month believed himself blind.9

In 1811, Dulong was severely wounded by an explosion of chloride of nitrogen, which he had at that time but recently discovered. All the glassware in his laboratory was broken, and he was compelled to suspend his investigation until the following year. In 1812, while continuing his experiments upon this dangerous compound, a still more disastrous explosion took place which caused him the loss of an eye and two fingers. 10

The same year Davy met with a similar though less severe accident. A tube containing a small quantity of chloride of nitrogen was suddenly shivered to atoms and he received a wound in the cornea of the eye, which was followed by inflammation, disabling him from further immediate experiments. In July, 1813, he attempted the analysis of this substance by the action of mercury, when a violent detonation occurred and he was again wounded in the head and hands. His injuries on this occasion were “comparatively slight, as he had taken the precaution to defend his face by a plate of glass attached to a proper cap.11

Faraday was at this time an assistant to Davy, and on one occasion was holding a small tube containing a few grains of the chloride of nitrogen, between his finger and thumb, when he was stunned by its sudden explosion, and on returning to consciousness found himself standing with his hand in the same position, but torn by the fragments of the shattered tube.12

Gehlen, professor of chemistry at Munich, died July 15th, 1815, a victim to an experiment with arsenetted hydrogen which he accidentally inhaled.13 The poisonous nature of this gas was first mentioned by Trommsdorff (J. B.) in 1803, who writes that his health had been “considerably injured by the unavoidable inhalation of this gas, which gives me ample reason to conclude that the gas must be highly poisonous.14

Thénard, professor of chemistry at the Polytechnic School at Paris, came near poisoning himself, in 1825, by means of a solution of corrosive sublimate which he mistook for eau-sucrée. The accident occurred during one of his lectures. Having swallowed two mouthfuls of the solution, he replaced the glass with entire self-possession and said: “Gentlemen, I have poisoned myself; what I have taken is corrosive sublimate, and the remedy is white of eggs. Bring me some.” The students rushed for the neighboring stores and kitchens, and soon a great pile of eggs was upon the lecture table before the professor. The prompt use of this antidote saved his life, although he was very sick for several weeks after the occurrence.15

Boullay, a young chemist of great promise, and whose researches on displacement laid the foundation for the process of percolation in the preparation of fluid extracts and tinctures, died in 1835 in consequence of terrible burns received by the ignition of ether, contained in a flask which was accidentally broken while in his hands.16

In 1840, at the School of Pharmacy at Paris, an explosion of an apparatus for the liquefaction of carbonic anhydride resulted in the death of Hervig, assistant in the laboratory.16

Bunsen met with a severe accident in 1841 while analyzing the cyanide of cacodyl. The combustion tube exploded and injured one of his eyes, and the experimenter himself lay for weeks between life and death, owing to the combined effects of the explosion and the poisonous nature of the vapor.17 Hennel, chemist at Apothecaries” Hall, London, was instantly killed June 11th, 1842, by an explosion of about six pounds of fulminating mercury which he was in the act of stirring with an ivory spatula.18

Donnet, assistant to Girardin, professor at Rouen, came near losing his sight, in 1843, by the explosion of fulminating silver.

Bescherer, professor at Rudolstadt, died November 29th, 1849, having been poisoned during the preparation of hydrocyanicacid.19

Mansfield, who first obtained benzol from coal-tar, died February 25th, 1855, from burns resulting from the boiling over of a small still containing naphtha, which he was purifying for the purpose of making a series of products for the Paris exhibition.20 Deville, in 1859, while experimenting with osmic acid, was rendered nearly blind for twenty-four hours by accidental exposure to its vapor.21

In 1863, Stewart, professor at Edinburgh, broke a vessel containing fuming nitric acid. The vapors to which he was exposed produced a difficulty of respiration after a few hours, which resulted in the death of both the professor and his assistant.22

In 1865, two assistants of Dr. Odling, at the laboratory of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, named Ulrich and Sloper, were poisoned by exposure to the vapors of mercuric methide.23

Nickels, professor at Nancy, died in 1869 from breathing [p.3] the vapor of hydrofluoric acid, during his experiments in endeavoring to isolate fluorine.24

In 1875, Deville and Debray, while distilling ruthenium tetroxide, met with a violent explosion, by which the labratory was filled with a strong smell of ozone and a dense black smoke, as if turpentine had been burned.25

It may not be uninteresting if I add the names of several distinguished scientists who died by accidents (not chemical) and other untoward causes.

Richman, member of the Academy of Sciences, at St. Petersburg, was killed by a lightning stroke in 1753, during the progress of an experiment, in which he attempted to measure the intensity of the electric fluid in a passing cloud. Lavoisier was guillotined (1794); Smithson-Tennant, who discovered iridium and osmium, fractured his skull by a fall from a drawbridge, at Boulogne-sur-Mer, and died within an hour (1815); Webster, professor of chemistry at Harvard University, was hanged for murder (1850); Hugh Miller, the celebrated geologist, took his own life with a pistol while suffering from cerebral disease (1856); the same year Sharpe, president of the Geological Society of London, was killed by a fall from his horse; and Matthiessen, professor of chemistry at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, poisoned himself with prussic acid in a fit of temporary insanity (1870).

Nature bears long with those who wrong her. She is patient under abuse. But when abuse has gone too far, when the time of reckoning finally comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her wrath. (1882) -- Nathaniel Egleston, who was writing then about deforestation, but speaks equally well about the danger of climate change today.

Carl Sagan: In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) ...(more by Sagan)

Albert Einstein: I used to wonder how it comes about that the electron is negative. Negative-positive—these are perfectly symmetric in physics. There is no reason whatever to prefer one to the other. Then why is the electron negative? I thought about this for a long time and at last all I could think was “It won the fight!” ...(more by Einstein)

Richard Feynman: It is the facts that matter, not the proofs. Physics can progress without the proofs, but we can't go on without the facts ... if the facts are right, then the proofs are a matter of playing around with the algebra correctly. ...(more by Feynman)

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