View source for Charles J. Pedersen

{{short description|American organic chemist (1904–1989)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Charles John Pedersen<br />{{nobold|安井 良男}}
| image             = Charles J. Pedersen.jpg
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1904|10|3}}
| birth_place       = [[Busan]], [[Korean Empire]]
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1989|10|26|1904|10|3}}
| death_place       = [[Salem, New Jersey]], U.S.
| nationality       = American
| residence         = 
| field             = [[Organic chemistry]]
| alma_mater        = [[University of Dayton]], [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
| doctoral_advisor  = 
| doctoral_students = 
| work_institutions = [[DuPont]]
| known_for         = Discovery of [[crown ethers]] <br />
Development of [[metal deactivator|metal deactivators]]
| prizes            = [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1987)
| spouse            = 
}}
[[Image:18-crown-6-potassium.png|thumb|[[Crown ether]] coordinating a potassium ion]]
'''Charles John Pedersen''' ({{langx|ja|安井 良男}}, ''Yasui Yoshio'', October 3, 1904 – October 26, 1989) was an American [[organic chemistry|organic chemist]] best known for discovering [[crown ether]]s and describing methods of synthesizing them during his entire 42-year career as a chemist for [[DuPont]] at [[DuPont Experimental Station]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware]], and at DuPont's Jackson Laboratory in Deepwater, New Jersey.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1987 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1987/pedersen/facts/ |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Often associated with [[Reed McNeil Izatt]], Pedersen also shared the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] in 1987 with [[Donald J. Cram]] and [[Jean-Marie Lehn]]. He is one of three Nobel Prize laureates born in [[Korea]], along with Peace Prize laureate [[Kim Dae-jung]] and Literature laureate [[Han Kang]].<ref>{{cite web |title=DJ와 또 한 명 … 노벨위원회엔 '한국 출생 수상자' 2명 기록 [DJ and another ... Nobel committee's record of two Korean-born winners] |date=October 12, 2014 |publisher=Joins.com |url=http://mediaspider.joins.com/?art_id=A14101104858 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063539/http://mediaspider.joins.com/?art_id=A14101104858 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref>

Pedersen made many other discoveries in chemistry, such as discovering and developing [[Metal deactivator|metal deactivators]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schroeder |first1=H. E. |last2=Pedersen |first2=C. J. |date=1988-01-01 |title=The productive scientific career of Charles J. Pedersen supplemented by an account of the discovery of 'crown ethers' |journal=Pure and Applied Chemistry |language=en |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=445–451 |doi=10.1351/pac198860040445 |issn=1365-3075|doi-access=free }}</ref> His early investigations also led to the development of a dramatically improved process for manufacturing [[Tetraethyllead|tetraethyl lead]], an important gasoline additive.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection: Charles J. Pedersen papers {{!}} Hagley Museum and Library Archives |url=https://findingaids.hagley.org/repositories/3/resources/1363 |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=findingaids.hagley.org}}</ref> He also contributed to the development of [[neoprene]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=CHARLES J. PEDERSEN DIES |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1989/10/28/charles-j-pedersen-dies/b3663520-3a69-49ab-9e33-aa28c912cc48/ |access-date=2023-11-06 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==

Born on October 3, 1904, in [[Busan]], [[Korean Empire|Korea]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-J-Pedersen|title=Charles J. Pedersen {{!}} American chemist|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-05-28}}</ref> Charles J. Pedersen was the youngest of three children. His father, Brede Pedersen, was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] marine engineer who immigrated to [[Korea]] in order to join the Korean customs service after leaving home due to family issues.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1987/pedersen/biographical/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125020416/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1987/pedersen/biographical/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 25, 2019|title=Charles J. Pedersen Biographical|last=Pedersen|first=Charles|date=1987|website=The Nobel Prize}}</ref> Later, he worked as a mechanical engineer at the [[Unsan County]] mines in present-day [[North Korea]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Sue-Lin |title=Gold divers on the North Korean border |url=http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/northkorea-china-border-gold/ |access-date=2019-05-28 |website=Reuters |language=en}}</ref> His Japanese mother, Takino Yasui, immigrated from [[Japan]] to [[Korea]] with her family and established a successful line of work by trading [[soybean]]s and [[silkworm]]s located close to the [[Unsan County]] mines, where the couple ultimately met.<ref name=":0" /> Although not much is mentioned about his elder brother, who died in childhood shortly before Pedersen was born, he had an older sister named Astrid, who was five years older than him.<ref name=":0" /> In [[Japan]], he used the Japanese given name '''Yoshio''' (良男), which he spelled using the [[kanji]] for "good" and "man".<ref name="nobel">{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1987/pedersen-bio.html|title=Charles J. Pedersen – Biographical|publisher=The Nobel Foundation}}</ref> According to Pedersen in a separate autobiographical account of his childhood, he had been born prior to the [[Russo-Japanese War]] and because his mother had still been grieving over the then-recent death of his older brother, he did not feel welcomed as a child.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Chemistry, 1981–1990|last=Malmstrom|first=Bo|publisher=World Scientific|year=1992|pages=496}}</ref>

Despite living in what is now [[North Korea]], because Pedersen lived in the vicinity of the American-owned [[Unsan County]] mines, which spanned approximately 500 square miles in area,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Palmer|first=Spencer J.|date=1962|title=American Gold Mining in Korea's Unsan District|journal=Pacific Historical Review|volume=31|issue=4|pages=379–391|doi=10.2307/3636264|issn=0030-8684|jstor=3636264}}</ref> he grew up speaking primarily [[English language|English]].<ref name=":0" />

At around 8 years old, Pedersen was sent by his family to study abroad in [[Nagasaki]], Japan and then later transferred to [[Saint Joseph College, Yokohama|St. Joseph College]] in [[Yokohama]], Japan.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2000/05/27/national/oldest-international-schools-closure-leaves-many-questions/|title=Oldest international school's closure leaves many questions|last=Gilhooly|first=Rob|date=2000-05-27|work=The Japan Times Online|access-date=2019-05-28|language=en-US|issn=0447-5763}}</ref>

After successfully completing his education at St. Joseph College,<ref name=":1" /> due to the close ties his family had with the [[Society of Mary (Marianists)]],<ref name=":0" /> Pedersen decided to attend college in [[America]] at the [[University of Dayton]] in [[Ohio]].

While spending his undergraduate life in 1922 studying [[chemical engineering]] at the [[University of Dayton]] in [[Ohio]], Pedersen had been a well balanced student who immersed himself in the sports, academic and social aspects of his college. With a passion for the sport of [[tennis]], Pedersen played on his school's varsity tennis team under Coach Frank Kronauge, a former [[University of Dayton]] tennis captain.<ref name=":6" /> Playing for all four years of his undergraduate years, Pedersen became captain for both of his junior and senior seasons on the team.<ref name=":6" /> Furthermore, Pedersen spent his time as both the vice-president of the Engineers' Club as well as in charge of Literary in the Daytonian Editorial Department<ref name=":6" /><sup>.</sup> Graduating from the [[University of Dayton]] in 1926 with a degree in [[chemical engineering]],<ref name=":6" /> he was dedicated for his time at the university as well as the various accomplishments he made while studying as an undergraduate.

Earning a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[chemical engineering]], Pedersen decided to attend the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in order to obtain a [[master's degree]] in organic chemistry. Although his professors at the time encouraged him to stay and pursue a PhD in organic chemistry, Pedersen decided to start his career instead, partially because he no longer wanted to be supported by his father. He is one of the few people to win a [[Nobel Prize]] in the sciences without having a [[PhD]].<ref name="nobel" />

=== Du Pont ===
After leaving the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], Pedersen became employed at the [[DuPont|DuPont Company]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware]], in 1927 through connections from his research advisor, Professor [[James F. Norris]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=archives_yrbk|title=Daytonian 1929|website=University Yearbooks}}</ref> While at [[DuPont]], Pedersen was able to begin research at the Jackson Laboratory under William S. Calcott and finished his career with DuPont at the Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware.<ref name=":0" />  As a young chemist at [[DuPont]], Pedersen witnessed and gained inspiration many flourishing chemists such as Julian Hill and [[Roy J. Plunkett]], and also breakthroughs in polymers and work in the field of organic chemistry.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Pedersen|first=Charles|title=The Discovery of Crown Ethers|journal=Nobel Lecture|volume=241|issue=4865|pages=536–540|bibcode=1988Sci...241..536P|year=1988|doi=10.1126/science.241.4865.536|pmid=17774576}}</ref>  Pedersen had a particular interest in [[Private industry|industry]] as he started his focus on his chemical career, which influenced the direction of problems he set out to solve as a chemist.  As Pedersen began working on problems as a new chemist, he was free to work on whatever problems fascinated him and he quickly became interested in [[Oxidative|oxidative degradation]] and stabilization of [[Substrate (chemistry)|substrate]].<ref name=":2" />  Pedersen's papers and work expanded beyond this, however it was a major influence to his eventual [[Nobel Prize]] awarded research.

Retiring at the age of 65, his work resulted in 25 papers and 65 patents, and in 1967, he published two works describing the methods of synthesizing [[crown ether]]s (cyclic polyethers).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pedersen|first=Charles|date=1988|title=Macrocyclic Polyethers:Dibenzo-18-Crown-6 Polyether and Dicyclohexyl-18-Crown-6 Polyether|journal=Organic Syntheses|volume=6|pages=395}}</ref> The donut-shaped molecules were the first in a series of extraordinary compounds that form stable structures with [[alkali metal]] [[ion]]s. In 1987, he shared the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for his work in this area with [[Donald Cram]] and [[Jean-Marie Lehn]], whom expanded upon his original discoveries.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-G3vi5av28C&q=charles+pedersen&pg=PA93|title=A Century of Nobel Prize Recipients: Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine|last=Leroy|first=Francis|date=2005|publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9780203014189}}</ref> In the whole process of the Nobel Prize winning, the Dupont Company fully supported Pedersen by providing him a full-time public relations man, and a part-time secretary. DuPont Company also utilized their own corporate aircraft to accompany Pedersen and his family, as he could not travel on commercial aircraft.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-10-14 |title=Our Trip to Sweden |url=http://rgcle.com/stories/trip198712.htm |access-date=2023-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041014050256/http://rgcle.com/stories/trip198712.htm |archive-date=2004-10-14 }}</ref>

== Discovery of the crown ethers ==
At around 1960, Pedersen went back to research in the field of [[Coordination Chemistry]], focusing on the [[Chemical synthesis|synthesis]] of [[Multidentate|multidentate ligands]]. It was recommended by his colleague [[Herman Schroeder]] to work on the [[Coordination Chemistry|coordination chemistry]] of [[vanadium]] before working on the [[polymerization]] and [[oxidative]] [[catalytic activity]] of [[vanadium]].<ref name=":7" /> It was while working on this research that Pedersen made his discovery of [[crown ether]].<ref name=":8" /> Through studying the bio[2-(o-Hydroxyphenoxy)Ethyl] [[ether]], Pedersen accidentally discovered an unknown substances described as a "goo" while purifying the compound.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SKDuCAAAQBAJ&q=charles+pedersen&pg=PA12|title=The Pedersen Memorial Issue|last=Izatt|first=R|date=2012-12-06|publisher=Springer |isbn=9789401125321}}</ref> Using [[ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy]] to study its reactions with [[phenol]] groups, after treating the samples with [[alkali]], although the [[absorption curve]] initially showed no changes, it was observed to have shifted to higher [[Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)|absorption]] readings if one or more of the [[hydroxy group]]s were [[Unpaired electron|unpaired]].<ref name=":8" /> Basing further research on this observation, Pedersen then dipped the unknown product in [[methanol]] and [[sodium hydroxide]]. Although the solution was not soluble in [[methanol]], it became [[Base (chemistry)|alkaline]] when in contact with the [[sodium hydroxide]].<ref name=":9" />
[[File:Reaction_1.jpg|thumb]]
Due to not being [[soluble]] in [[methanol]], Pedersen then proceeded to treat the [[methanol]] with [[soluble]] [[sodium salts]], to which the unknown substance became [[soluble]], allowing him to conclude that the [[solubility]] was due to [[sodium ion]]s instead of [[alkalinity]].<ref name=":7" /> Since the behavior of this substance mirrored that of 2,3-benzo-1,4,7-trioxacyclononane, with twice the [[molecular-weight]], the unknown molecule was then coined as [[dibenzo-18-crown-6]], the first of the aromatic crown compounds discovered.<ref name=":8" />

== Associations with other chemists ==

=== Reed M. Izatt ===
In 1968 [[Reed Izatt|Izatt]] was on a train ride home when he stopped in [[Chicago]] to meet with the [[physiologist]] George Eisenman who informed [[Reed Izatt|Izatt]] about Pedersen's paper on [[crown ether]]s published only months earlier.<ref name=":5" /> [[Reed Izatt|Izatt]] was looking forward to the possibilities of studying these [[crown ether]]s with his [[Thermionic emission|thermionic]] [[titration]] technique. [[Reed Izatt|Izatt]] called Pedersen and was the first scientist not at [[DuPont]] to meet with Pedersen about his discovery and Pedersen supplied him with a sample of his new [[Crown ether|crown ether compound]]. [[Reed Izatt|Izatt's]] work on [[molecular recognition]] was greatly influenced by his interaction with Pedersen.  In [[Reed Izatt|Izatt's]] last visit with Pedersen prior to his death in 1988 he found a personal letter written by Pedersen that stated, "''Most men achieve 'Immortality' through their progeny. I have no child of my own. Possibly, the crown ethers will serve, in a small way, to mark my footprint on earth"'' and [[Reed Izatt|Izatt]] believing this too shares Pedersen's message.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Izatt|first=Reed M.|date=2017-05-09|title=Charles J. Pedersen's legacy to chemistry|journal=Chemical Society Reviews|language=en|volume=46|issue=9|pages=2380–2384|doi=10.1039/C7CS00128B|pmid=28397917|issn=1460-4744}}</ref>

=== Donald J. Cram ===
[[Donald J. Cram|Cram]] shared the 1987 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] with Pedersen but expanding on Pedersen's monumental discovery in [[Macrocycle|macrocyclic chemistry]] of [[crown ether]]s.<ref name=":3" /> Pedersen's work was in [[Plane (mathematics)|two-dimensional structures]] but [[Donald J. Cram|Cram]] was able to synthesize similar molecules in [[three-dimensional space]]. Cram's synthesis of these [[Three-dimensional space|three-dimensional]] molecules provided large gains in the production of [[enzyme]]s made in labs as these structures have [[Chemoselectivity|selectivity]] based on complementary structures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1987/cram/factshttps://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/inmemoriam/html/donaldjamescram.html|title=Donald J. Cram – Facts|website=The Nobel Prize}}</ref>

=== Jean-Marie Lehn ===
[[Jean-Marie Lehn|Lehn]] was the other scientist who shared the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] with Pedersen and was fundamental in starting the field of [[Supramolecular chemistry]]. [[Jean-Marie Lehn|Lehn's]] work specifically identified in his recognition for the [[Nobel Prize]] was in his work on [[cryptand]]s.<ref name=":2" />

== Miscellaneous research ==
Although minimal research has been conducted on this [[Chemical compound|compound]], Pedersen observed that it had potential to work as a deactivator for [[copper]]. Nevertheless, it was the first of the many [[metal deactivator]]s, which function by converting an inactive [[Coordination complex|complex]] from an otherwise [[Catalysis|catalytic]] [[metal ion]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Pedersen|first=Charles|date=1967|title=Cyclic polyethers and their complexes with metal salts|journal=[[Journal of the American Chemical Society]]|volume=89|issue=26|pages=7017–7036|doi=10.1021/ja01002a035|bibcode=1967JAChS..89.7017P }}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Pedersen was married to Susan J. Ault in 1947<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jEy67gEvIuMC&q=charles+pedersen&pg=PA722|title=Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 1901–1992|last=Laylin|first=James|date=1993-10-30|publisher=Chemical Heritage Foundation |isbn=9780841226906}}</ref> and the couple then moved to [[Salem, New Jersey]], where they resided until Ault died on February 8, 1983, at 72 years old. Pedersen was diagnosed with [[myeloma]] in 1983, and though he was becoming increasingly frail, he traveled to [[Stockholm]] to accept the [[Nobel Prize]] in late 1987.<ref name=":8" /> Shortly thereafter, he was awarded a medal for excellence by the [[DuPont|DuPont Research Fellows]]. He died on 26 October 1989 in [[Salem, New Jersey]].<ref>''"The Benner, Cleaveland and Related Families – Obituary of Charles Pedersen". rgcle.com. Archived from the original'' ''on February'' ''8, 2011.'' ''Retrieved November 7, 2010.''</ref>

== Legacy ==
Following Pedersen's breakthrough in realizing his accidental product and structure of [[dibenzo-18-crown-6]], huge advancements have been made in the fields of [[Macrocycle|macrocyclic]] and [[supramolecular chemistry]]. Pedersen devoted the rest of his research career to studying these [[molecule]]s and started one of the largest growths recently seen in a specific field of chemistry.  This growth in Pedersen's field of work following his momentous discovery for [[Macrocycle|macrocyclic compounds]] can be seen in the work of the 2016 [[Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry]] for [[molecular motor]]s where Pedersen's work allowed for the insight in how to create the molecular specific structures. The molecular machines were recognized as the focus of the 2016 [[Nobel Prize Winners]], which were produced by connecting [[molecule]]s to various molecular rings.<ref name=":5" />

== Publications ==
*{{cite journal | last1 = Pedersen | first1 = Charles J | year = 1988 | title = The Discovery of Crown Ethers | journal = Science | volume = 241 | issue = 4865| pages = 536–540 | doi = 10.1126/science.241.4865.536 | pmid = 17774576 | bibcode = 1988Sci...241..536P }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Pedersen | first1 = Charles J | year = 1967| title = Cyclic polyethers and their complexes with metal salts | journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society| volume = 89 | issue = 10| pages = 2495–2496 | doi = 10.1021/ja00986a052 | bibcode = 1967JAChS..89.2495P }}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Nobelprize|name=Charles J. Pedersen}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040804173923/http://www.rgcle.com/SS/p4.htm#i78 Charles J. Pedersen's family website]

{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1976-2000}}
{{1987 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{University of Dayton}}
{{MIT}}
{{DuPont}}
{{BranchesofChemistry}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Charles J.}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:American organic chemists]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Japanese descent]]
[[Category:American scientists of Asian descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American chemists]]
[[Category:Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States]]
[[Category:DuPont people]]
[[Category:Japanese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:People from Busan]]
[[Category:People from Salem, New Jersey]]
[[Category:University of Dayton alumni]]
[[Category:South Korean people of Norwegian descent]]
[[Category:South Korean people of Japanese descent]]