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Landmark designation
The American Chemical Society designated the discovery of organic free radicals as a National Historic Chemical Landmark on June 25, 2000. The plaque commerating the event reads:
In 1900, Moses Gomberg, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan, confirmed the existence of a stable, trivalent organic free radical: triphenylmethyl. In so doing, he challenged the then prevailing belief that carbon could have only four chemical bonds. Gomberg's discovery made a major contribution to theoretical organic chemistry and fostered a field of research that continues to grow and expand. Today, organic free radicals are widely used in plastics and rubber manufacture, as well as medicine, agriculture and biochemistry.
What is an organic free radical? |
Gomberg's breakthrough |
The discovery of triphenylmethyl
Carbon bonds |
A wide-reaching legacy |
Moses Gomberg
Landmark designation |
Further reading and acknowledgments
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