[Obituaries]

Abstract

PROF. CARL GRAEBE, who died after a long illness on Jan. 19 in his native town, Frankfort, within a few weeks of completing his eighty-sixth year, had for many years occupied with distinction the chair of chemistry at Geneva. Graebeapos;s reputation was made by his brilliant researches on the constitution of aromatic and heterocyclic compounds, particularly on quinones, phthalic acid, alizarin, and acridine. He also succeeded in demonstrating the constitution of anthracene, phenanthrene, fluorene, carbazol, etc., and was a pioneer in the investigation of the relationship between colour and chemical constitution. Having shown that alizarin was derived not from naphthalene but from anthracene, the synthesis of that important dyestuff could not be long delayed, and the solution of this problem in 1868 by Graebe and Liebermann marks an important stage in the development of the dyestuff industry. Graebe was also the author of a work on the history of organic chemistry.