Chemistry: 1931

1) Bosch, Carl pronounced bosh or bawsh, (1874-1940), was a German chemist and industrialist. He became known for his development of experimental laboratory processes into commercial methods of production. In 1910, Fritz Haber patented a method of making ammonia from hydrogen and atmospheric nitrogen. Bosch adapted this process for industrial use. He also helped develop commercially the process for the hydrogenation of coal and oil, discovered by Friedrich Bergius. Bosch and Bergius shared the 1931 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Bosch was born in Cologne, and studied at the University of Leipzig. From 1935 to 1940, Bosch headed I. G. Farbenindustrie, a German dye trust.

2) Bergius, Friedrich pronounced BUR gee oos, (1884-1949), a German chemist, shared the 1931 Nobel prize for chemistry. He operated a private research laboratory in Hannover. His most famous work dealt with high-pressure chemical reactions. Out of these studies came the method for the direct conversion of coal dust to oil, known as the Bergius process. This discovery is important to countries without oil reserves. Bergius was born at Goldschmieden, near Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland).