Carl Bosch was born at Cologne on
August 27, 1874, and grew up there. From 1894 to 1896 he studied
metallurgy and mechanical engineering at the Technische
Hochschule in Charlottenburg, but started reading chemistry at
Leipzig University in 1896. He graduated under
Professor Wislicenus with a paper on organic chemistry in 1898.
He entered the employ of the Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik,
Ludwigshafen, Rhine as a chemist in April 1899 and participated
actively in the development of the then new industry of synthetic
indigo under the guidance of Dr. Rudolf Knietsch.
At the turn of the century Bosch became interested in the problem
of the fixing of nitrogen and his first experiments in this field
were done with metal cyanides and nitrides; in 1907 he started a
pilot plant for the production of barium cyanide.
Bosch's opportunity for really large-scale work came when in 1908
the Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik acquired the process of
high-pressure synthesis of ammonia, which had been developed by
Fritz Haber at the Technische
Hochschule in Karlsruhe. Bosch was given the task of developing
this process on a large industrial scale. This task involved the
construction of plant and apparatus which would stand up to
working at high gas pressure and high reaction temperatures.
Haber's catalysts, osmium and uranium had to be replaced by a
contact substance which would be both cheaper and more easily
available. Bosch and his collaborators found the solution by
using pure iron with certain additives. Further problems which
had to be solved were the construction of safe high-pressurized
blast furnaces, a cheap way of producing and cleaning the gases
necessary for the synthesis of ammonia. Step by step Bosch went
on to using increasingly larger manufacturing units and thus
created the industry which deals with the production of synthetic
ammonia according to the high-pressure process.
From this work resulted the second task of making the thus won
ammonia available for use in industry and agriculture. Bosch
succeeded in working out methods for the industrial production of
nitrogen fertilizers, thus providing practically every country in
the world with sufficient fertilizers for agricultural purposes.
The Stickstoffwerke (Nitrogen works) in Oppau were opened in
1913, followed by the even larger Leunawerke near Merseburg in
1917, where the synthesis of methanol and the hydrogenation of
oil were added to the production programme. Bosch was appointed
Managing Director of the Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik in 1919
and in 1925 was made Principal of the I.G. Farbenindustrie
Aktiengesellschaft, which was created by the merger of the German
coal-tar dye works. In 1935 Bosch was appointed Chairman of the
Board of Directors of the I.G. Farbenindustrie A.G.
Bosch was honoured in many ways and not only for his achievements
and inventions in the field of industry, but also for his
research in pure science, which he considered to be his duty. He
received the honorary doctorate of the Technische Hochschule in
Karlsruhe (1918), of the Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule
(Agriculture College), Berlin (1921), the Technische Hochschule in Munich (1922), of Halle
University (1927), the Technische Hochschule in Darmstadt (1928).
The distinctions of Honorary Senator of the Universities of
Heidelberg (1922) and Leipzig (1939), and of Honorary Citizen of
Frankfurt (1939) were conferred upon him.
He received the Liebig Memorial Medal of the Association of
German Chemists, the Bunsen Medal of the German Bunsen Society,
the Siemens Ring, the Golden Grashof Memorial Medal of the VDI
(Association of German Engineers), the Exner Medal from the
Austrian Trade Association, and the Carl Lueg Memorial Medal from
the Association of German Metallurgists. In 1931 he was awarded
the highest international honour, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry,
jointly with Friedrich Bergius, for their contributions to the
invention and development of chemical high pressure
methods.
Bosch particularly enjoyed his membership of various German and
foreign scientific academies, and his chairmanship of the Kaiser
Wilhelm Society of which he became its President in 1937.
He died after a prolonged illness on April 26, 1940.
From Nobel Lectures, Chemistry 1922-1941, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1966
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1931
Carl Bosch
