Editing Carl Bosch

{{About|the chemical engineer|other uses|Bosch (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Short description|German chemist and engineer (1874–1940)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name        = Carl Bosch
| image       = Carl Bosch.jpg
| caption     = Bosch {{circa|1929}}
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1874|8|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Cologne]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1940|4|26|1874|8|27|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Heidelberg]], [[Nazi Germany]]
| field       = [[Chemistry]]
| workplaces  = [[BASF]], [[IG Farben]]
| education   = [[Technische Universität Berlin]]<br>[[Leipzig University]]
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Johannes Wislicenus]]<ref>[https://academictree.org/chemistry/tree.php?pid=51928 Entry at Academic Tree]</ref>
| known_for   = [[Bosch reaction]]<br>[[Urea#Production|Bosch–Meiser urea process]]<br>[[Haber–Bosch process]]
| prizes      = {{Plainlist|
* [[Liebig Medal]] (1919)
* {{nowrap|[[Werner von Siemens Ring]] (1924)}}
* {{nowrap|[[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1931)}}
* [[Wilhelm Exner Medal]] (1932)
* {{nowrap|[[Goethe Prize]] (1939)}}
}}
|signature=Carl Bosch Signature.png
}}

'''Carl Bosch''' ({{IPA|de|kaʁl ˈbɔʃ|-|De-Carl Bosch.ogg}}; 27 August 1874 – 26 April 1940) was a German [[chemist]] and [[engineer]] and [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Laureate in Chemistry]].<ref name="Nobel Prize Bio">{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1931/bosch-bio.html |title=Carl Bosch – Biographical |access-date=15 December 2013 |publisher=Nobel Media AB<!-- dating from July 2012 – https://archive.today/20120712075334/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1931/bosch-bio.html -->|website = Nobelprize.org}}</ref> He was a pioneer in the field of [[high-pressure chemistry|high-pressure industrial chemistry]] and founder of [[IG Farben]], at one point the world's largest chemical company.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hager |first1=Thomas |author-link1=Thomas Hager|title=The Demon under the Microscope |date=2006 |page=74 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4000-8214-8 |title-link=The Demon under the Microscope }}</ref>

He also developed the [[Haber process|Haber–Bosch process]], important for the large-scale synthesis of fertilizers and explosives. It is estimated that one-third of annual global food production uses ammonia from the Haber–Bosch process, and that this supports nearly half of the world's population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flavell-While |first=Claudia |title=Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch – Feed the World |url=https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/cewctw-fritz-haber-and-carl-bosch-feed-the-world/ |access-date=30 April 2021 |website=www.thechemicalengineer.com}}</ref> In addition, he co-developed the so-called [[Bosch-Meiser process]] for the industrial production of [[urea]].

== Biography ==

=== Early years ===
Carl Bosch was born in [[Cologne]] to a successful gas and plumbing supplier.<ref name="hager">{{Cite book|title = The alchemy of air|last = Hager|first = Thomas|publisher = Harmony Books|year = 2008|isbn = 978-0-307-35178-4|location = New York|oclc = 191318130}}</ref>  His father was Carl Friedrich Alexander Bosch (1843–1904) and his uncle was [[Robert Bosch]], who pioneered the development of the [[spark plug]] and founded the multinational company [[Robert Bosch GmbH|Bosch]]. Carl, trying to decide between a career in metallurgy or chemistry, studied at the ''Königlich [[Technische Hochschule]] in [[Charlottenburg]]'' (now [[Technische Universität Berlin]]) and the [[University of Leipzig]] from 1892 to 1898. {{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

=== Career ===
[[File:I.G. Farbenindustrie AG 1926.jpg|thumb|left|Share of the IG Farbenindustrie AG, issued September 1926; signed by Carl Bosch as chairman]]
[[File:IGFarbenGoetterrat.jpg|thumb|300px|Painting by [[Hermann Groeber]]: ''Der Aufsichtsrat der 1925 gegründeten I.G. Farben AG'', Carl Bosch and [[Carl Duisberg]] (in front sitting), [[Edmund ter Meer]] (third person from right with newspaper)]]
Carl Bosch attended the University of Leipzig, and this is where he studied under [[Johannes Wislicenus]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Bosch|title=Carl Bosch {{!}} German chemist|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=9 December 2017|language=en}}</ref> and he obtained his doctorate in 1898 for research in organic chemistry. After he left in 1899 he took an entry-level job at [[BASF]], then Germany's largest chemical and dye firm. From 1909 until 1913 he transformed [[Fritz Haber]]'s tabletop demonstration of a method to fix nitrogen using [[high-pressure chemistry]] through the [[Haber–Bosch process]] to produce synthetic nitrate, a process that has countless industrial applications for making a near-infinite variety of industrial compounds, consumer goods, and commercial products. His primary contribution was to expand the scale of the process, enabling the industrial production of vast quantities of synthetic nitrate. To do this, he had to construct a plant and equipment that would function effectively under high gas pressures and high temperatures. {{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Bosch was also responsible for finding a more practical catalyst than the scarce [[osmium]] and expensive [[uranium]] being used by Haber.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bosch |first1=Carl |title=The development of the chemical high pressure method during the establishment of the new ammonia industry |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/bosch-lecture.pdf |access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref>

There were many more obstacles as well, such as designing large compressors and safe high-pressure furnaces.  A means was needed to provide pure hydrogen gas in quantity as the [[feedstock]]. Also, cheap and safe means had to be developed to clean and process the product [[ammonia]]. The first full-scale Haber–Bosch plant was erected in Oppau, Germany, now part of [[Ludwigshafen]].  With the process complete he was able to synthesize large amounts of ammonia, which was available for the industrial and agricultural fields. In fact, this production has increased the agricultural yields throughout the world.<ref name="hager" /> This work won him the Nobel prize for Chemistry in 1931.<ref name="Nobel Prize Bio" />

After [[World War I]] Bosch extended high-pressure techniques to the production of [[synthetic fuel]] via the [[Bergius process]] and [[methanol]]. In 1925 Bosch helped found [[IG Farben]], and was the first head of the company. From 1935, Bosch was chairman of the board of directors.

He received the [[Siemens-Ring]] in 1924 for his contributions to applied research and his support of basic research. In 1931 he was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] together with [[Friedrich Bergius]] for the introduction of high pressure chemistry. Today the Haber–Bosch process produces 100 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer every year.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title = Carl Bosch (German chemist)|encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica |date = 23 August 2023 |url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/74581/Carl-Bosch|access-date = 15 December 2013<!-- archived June 2013 at https://archive.today/20130628202349/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/74581/Carl-Bosch -->}}</ref> After the [[Nazi seizure of power]], Bosch was one of the industrialists selected for membership in [[Hans Frank]]'s [[Academy for German Law]] in October 1933, where he served on the General Economic Council (''Generalrat der Wirtschaft''). In December 1933, Bosch received a contract to expand the production of synthetic oil, a development which was essential to [[Adolf Hitler]]'s future war plans.<ref>{{cite book |last= Klee |first= Ernst |title= Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945 |publisher= Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag |location= Frankfurt-am-Main |year= 2007 |pages=66–67 |isbn= 978-3-596-16048-8}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
[[File:Carl bosch grab.JPG|thumb|Bosch's grave in Heidelberg<br />{{Coord|49.396155|8.692567|display=inline|region:DE-BW_type:landmark|name=Site at Bergfriedhof und Jüdischer Friedhof or Mountain cemetery – Bergfriedhof Heidelberg}}]]
Bosch married Else Schilbach in 1902. Carl and Else had a son and a daughter together. A critic of many Nazi policies, including [[anti-Semitism]], Bosch was gradually relieved of his high positions, and fell into depression and alcoholism.<ref name=hager /> He died in [[Heidelberg]].

== Legacy ==
The Haber–Bosch Process today consumes more than one percent of humanity's energy production and is responsible for feeding roughly one-third of its population.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Enriching the earth|last = Smil|first = Vaclav|publisher = MIT Press|year = 2001|location = Cambridge, Massachusetts|oclc = 61678151}}</ref> On average, one-half of the nitrogen in a human body comes from synthetically fixed sources, the product of a Haber–Bosch plant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00dzl8p|title=Fixing the Nitrogen Fix, Can Chemistry Save The World?, Discovery – BBC World Service|website=BBC|access-date=27 August 2016}}</ref> Bosch was an ardent collector of insects, minerals, and gems. His collected meteorites and other mineral samples were loaned to [[Yale University]], and eventually purchased by the [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Wilson | title=Carl Bosch (1874–1940) | url=http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=205 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928083822/http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=205 | url-status=dead | archive-date=28 September 2006 | work=The Mineralogical Record | year=2013 | access-date=15 December 2013 | department=Biographical Archive<!-- archived April 2013 at https://archive.today/20130415111138/http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=205 --> | first=Wendell E. }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last= Servos | title=Meteorites in the Carl Bosch Collection of Minerals Yale University | journal=Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta | year=1954 | volume=5 | issue=6 | pages=299–300 | doi=10.1016/0016-7037(54)90037-X|bibcode = 1954GeCoA...5..299S |first = Kurt}}{{Registration required}}</ref>  He was an amateur astronomer with a well-equipped private observatory. The [[asteroid]] [[7414 Bosch]] was named in his honour.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Lehmann  | title=Amateurastronomen am Sternenhimmel | url=http://www.kleinplanetenseite.de/Versch/kphimmel.htm | publisher=Amateure am Sternenhimmel | date=27 October 2004 | access-date=15 December 2013|language = German<!-- archived in Aug 2012 at https://archive.today/20120803063615/http://www.kleinplanetenseite.de/Versch/kphimmel.htm -->|first1 = Gerhard|last2 = Kandler|first2 = Jens|first3 = André|last3 = Knöfel}}</ref>

Carl Bosch along with Fritz Haber were voted the world's most influential chemical engineers of all time by members of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icheme.org/media_centre/news/2011/haber%20and%20bosch%20named%20top%20chemical%20engineers.aspx |title=Haber and Bosch named top chemical engineers |publisher=Institution of Chemical Engineers |date=21 February 2011 |access-date=15 December 2013<!-- archived June 2012 at https://archive.today/20120629061631/http://www.icheme.org/media_centre/news/2011/haber%20and%20bosch%20named%20top%20chemical%20engineers.aspx%23.T-1IOKgo_KA --> |website=IChemE.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005012711/http://www.icheme.org/media_centre/news/2011/haber%20and%20bosch%20named%20top%20chemical%20engineers.aspx |archive-date=5 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Haber–Bosch process]], quite possibly the best-known chemical process in the world, which captures nitrogen from the air and converts it to ammonia, has its hand in the process of the [[Green Revolution]] that has been feeding the increasing population of the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tcetoday.com/chemical%20engineers%20who%20changed%20the%20world.aspx |title=Chemical engineers who changed the world |at=2010 Entries: Feed the world |date=March 2010 |publisher=Institution of Chemical Engineers |website=tce today |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320142112/http://www.tcetoday.com/chemical%20engineers%20who%20changed%20the%20world.aspx |archive-date=20 March 2011 }}</ref>

Bosch also won numerous awards including an honorary doctorate from [[Karlsruhe Institute of Technology|Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe]] (1918), the Liebig Memorial Medal of the Association of German Chemists along with the Bunsen Medal of the German Bunsen Society, the Siemens Ring, and the Golden Grashof Memorial medal of the VDI. In 1931 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the contribution to the invention of [[High-pressure chemistry|chemical high pressure methods]].  He also received the Exner medal from the Austrian Trade Association and the Carl Lueg Memorial Medal.  Bosch also enjoyed his membership of various German and foreign scientific academics, and his chairmanship of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society of which he became the President in 1937.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://humantouchofchemistry.com/carl-bosch.htm |title=Famous Scientists – Carl Bosch |publisher=Tata Chemicals |access-date=15 December 2013 |website=The Human Touch of Chemistry<!-- archived June 2013 at https://archive.today/20130629114601/http://humantouchofchemistry.com/carl-bosch.htm --> |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629114601/http://humantouchofchemistry.com/carl-bosch.htm |archive-date=29 June 2013 }}</ref>

== Awards and honours ==
*1931: [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]]
*1919: [[Liebig Medal]] of German Chemists Association
*1924: [[Werner von Siemens Ring]] of ''Stiftung Werner-von-Siemens-Ring foundation''
*1932: [[Wilhelm Exner Medal]] of Austrian Trade Association
*Bunsen Medal of the German Bunsen Society
*Golden Grashof Memorial medal of the VDI
*Carl Lueg Memorial Medal

== See also ==
*[[German inventors and discoverers]]
*[[Fritz Haber]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book|author=Vaclav Smil|title=Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9FljcEASycC|year=2004|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-69313-4|author-link=Vaclav Smil}}
*Thomas Hager, ''The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler'' (2008) {{ISBN|978-0-307-35178-4}}.
* {{cite journal | author= Peter Hayes  | title=Carl Bosch and Carl Krauch: Chemistry and the Political Economy of Germany, 1925–1945 | journal=The Journal of Economic History | year=1987 | volume=47 | issue=2 | pages=353–363 | doi= 10.1017/S0022050700048117| jstor=2122234| s2cid=96617284 }}
* {{cite journal | author= K. Holdermann | title=Carl Bosch und die Naturwissenschaft | journal=Naturwissenschaften | year=1949 | volume=36 | issue=6 | pages=161–165 | doi=10.1007/BF00626575 | bibcode=1949NW.....36..161H| s2cid=28091913 }}
* {{cite journal | author= Carl Krauch | title=Carl Bosch zum Gedächtnis | journal=Angewandte Chemie | year=1940 | volume=53 | issue=27–28 | pages=285–288 | doi=10.1002/ange.19400532702| bibcode=1940AngCh..53..285K }}
* {{cite web |url=http://humantouchofchemistry.com/carl-bosch.htm |title=Carl Bosch |series=Famous Scientists |publisher=Human Touch of Chemistry |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629114601/http://humantouchofchemistry.com/carl-bosch.htm |archive-date=29 June 2013 }}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1931/bosch-bio.html |title=Carl Bosch |series=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1931 |publisher=Nobelprize.org}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/74581/Carl-Bosch |title=Carl Bosch (German chemist) |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=23 August 2023 }}

== External links ==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630035704/http://uk.geocities.com/hertouyt/cgi-bin/bosch-speech.html |date=30 June 2006 |title=recognition of their contributions to the invention and development of chemical high pressure methods }}.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140408215259/http://www.educadores.diaadia.pr.gov.br/arquivos/File/tvmultimidia/imagens/3quimica/9haber-bosch.jpg Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch]
* [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/BASF_Werk_Ludwigshafen_1881.JPG BASF Where Carl Worked]
* [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YMFreDbGCus/UXE1E_uz5BI/AAAAAAAABG0/F2ExTcQ7McY/s654/catalytic_converter.gif BASF's Production]
* {{PM20}}
* {{Nobelprize}}

{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1926–1950}}
{{1931 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{IG Farben}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosch, Carl}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:BASF people]]
[[Category:Engineers from Cologne]]
[[Category:German chemical engineers]]
[[Category:German industrialists]]
[[Category:German Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:IG Farben people]]
[[Category:Leipzig University alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Academy for German Law]]
[[Category:Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:People from the Rhine Province]]
[[Category:Scientists from Cologne]]
[[Category:Technische Universität Berlin alumni]]
[[Category:Werner von Siemens Ring laureates]]
[[Category:German organic chemists]]