Austin McDowell Patterson

Austin McDowell Patterson (1876-1956) was a US specialist in chemical documentation.

Life

Austin McDowell Patterson born May 31, 1876 in Damascus, Syria, and grew up in Xenia, OH. He graduated from Princeton University in 1897 with a BA in Classics and earned a PhD in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University in 1900. He taught at Centre College in Kentucky (1900-01), and Rose Polytechnic Institute, Terre Haute, Indiana (1901-03). Patterson become chemistry editor of Webster's Dictionary in Springfield, Mass. (1903-1907) and thereafter in Ohio. He was the associate editor under W.A. Noyes, then the editor of Chemical Abstracts (1909-1914). He served as a member of Chemical Warfare Service in World War I and as principal specialist in chemical education for the Engineering Science and Management War Training Commission during World War II.

Inspired by plans to reorganize Antioch College as a completely cooperative liberal arts college, Patterson became chairman of the Chemistry department (1921-41) and was Vice-President (1930-41) and Professor Emeritus (1941-1956). He died February 26 Feb 1956 in Xenia, OH.

Contributions

During World War I Patterson developed a complete method for naming organic compounds. Patterson worked on indexing organic compounds for Chemical Abstracts. With He wrote The Ring Index with L. T. Capell, listing/cataloging ring systems and was a nomenclature pioneer. He was known for his English-German and English-French Dictionaries for Chemists as well as his column "Words about Words." With E. J. Crane, he published a guide to the literature of chemistry.

Crane said, "He was the leading authority on the world on the nomenclature of chemistry. He...has done more to solve the problems of chemical nomenclature than anyone else. He was ever willing to help those having difficulty naming chemical substances."

Publications

A Guide to the Literature of Chemistry, by E.J. Crane, A. M. Patterson & C. W. Reeder. New York: Wiley, 1927.
A German-English Dictionary for Chemists. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1917. Later editions 1935, 1950 & 1992.
English-French Dictionary for Chemists. New York: Wiley, 1921; 2nd ed. 1956.
A French-English dictionary for chemists. New York, Wiley, 1921. 2nd ed., [1954]
The Ring Index, a list of ring systems used in organic chemistry, A. M. Patterson & L. T. Capell. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1940. Also 2nd ed. ans Supplements.
Words about words; a collection of nomenclature columns. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1957. Reprinted from Chemical and Engineering News.

Offices

ACS Committee on Nomenclature, Spelling, and Pronunciation. Founding Chairman 1911-1914.

Awards

The American Chemical Society Columbus and Dayton Sections created the Austin M. Patterson Award in 1949 for contributions to chemical information. It was first conferred on Patterson in recognition of his work on chemical nomenclature and as editor of Chemical Abstracts. It was later renamed the Patterson-Crane Award.

Papers

Chemical Abstracts Service|Chemical Abstracts Service Library]], Columbus, OH 43210-0012.
University of Wisconsin, Madison Libraries. Ebling Library, KRF A2: Biographical Materials.