Austin McDowell Patterson: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:01, 19 February 2025

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.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-NAME:	Austin McDowell Patterson
+'''Austin McDowell Patterson''' (1876-1956) was a US specialist in chemical documentation.
-DATES:	1876-1956
+== 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 Service|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.
-ADDRESS:
+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.
-E-MAIL:
+== Contributions ==
+During World War I Patterson developed a complete method for naming organic compounds. Patterson worked on indexing organic compounds for ''[[Chemical Abstracts Service|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.
-WORKED AT:	Chemical Abstracts
-OTHER INFORMATION:	Patterson taught at: Center College 1900-01; Rose Polytechnic Institute 1901-03; Chemical Editor, Webster's New International Dictionary 1903-07; Associate editor/editor, Chemical Abstracts 1907-14; Antioch College: Chairman Chemistry Department 1921-41; Vice-Pres. 1930-41; Emeritus prof., Antioch until 1955.
-He worked on indexing organic compounds for Chemical Abstracts, leading to the development of a compound naming system. He wrote The Ring Index with Capell, listing/cataloging ring systems. He was a nomenclature pioneer at CAS. 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. Patterson helped found Chemical Abstracts.
 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."
-AWARDS:	1949 Patterson-Crane Award(ACS) for meritorious contributions to the field of chemical literature, especially the documentation of chemistry; Given in honor of Patterson, a pioneer in the field; 1954 Community Service Award (Xenia Chamber of Commerce).
+== Publications ==
+*''A Guide to the Literature of Chemistry'', by E.J. Crane, A. M. Patterson & C. W. Reeder. New York: Wiley, 1927.
-OFFICES:	ACS Committee on Nomenclature, Spelling, and Pronunciation Founding Chairman 1911-1914.
+*''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.
-PAPERS AT:
+*''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.
-LOCATION #1	CAS Library, 2540 Olentangy River Road, P.O. Box 3012, Columbus, OH 43210-0012.
+*''Words about words; a collection of nomenclature columns''. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1957. Reprinted from ''Chemical and Engineering News''.
-PAPERS DATES:
-SIZE:
+== Offices ==
+ACS Committee on Nomenclature, Spelling, and Pronunciation. Founding Chairman 1911-1914.
-INCLUDES:	Papers and correspondence are housed in an off-site facility of CAS. None of the papers have been processed or indexed but this is considered a temporary status since in the future CAS is looking to organize the archives. CAS is planning to contact the Chemical Heritage Foundation (formerly the Center for the History of Chemistry) in Philadelphia to see if it is interested in receiving, processing, and preserving these papers. Anyone interested in examining Crane's papers should notify the CAS librarian who can retrieve the papers within a day or two from the off-site storage.
+== 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.
-FINDING AID:	None available at this time.
+== Further reading ==
+*"Austin McDowell Patterson (1876 - 1956)" [Obituary]. ''Geni'' [https://www.geni.com/people/Austin-Patterson/6000000007131063593]
+*Corwin, James F. "Austin McDowell Patterson (1876-1956)." [Obituary]. ''Journal of Chemical Education'' 33, no 8 (Aug. 1, 1956): 396.
-SOURCE:	Letter from W.V. Metanomski, Senior Editor, Authority Database Operations, CAS (25 June 1996).
+== Papers ==
+*Chemical Abstracts Service|Chemical Abstracts Service Library]], Columbus, OH 43210-0012.
+*University of Wisconsin, Madison Libraries. Ebling Library, KRF A2: Biographical Materials.