Barker, George Frederick

George Frederick Barker was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts . He received his primary education at public schools in Boston , and later studied at academies in South Berwick. Dr. Barker began his career in science, first as an assistant to Dr. Bacon at Harvard Medical School (1859–1861). Soon he became a professor (1861) and personally lectured at a college in the city of Wheaton, which was located in Illinois ; and then at the Medical College in Albany, where he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine (1862–1863). There he worked for quite a long time, doing chemical examinations of the internal organs of the dead body. His scientific career abruptly went up the hill. Between 1863 and 1869, George Barker lectured from Williams College to University of Pittsburgh. Also in 1869, he became a professor of physiology and toxicology at Yale Medical School. In 1872 he became a professor of physics at a university in Pennsylvania. There he spent the rest of his life. In the 1880s, he served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is president of the American Chemical Society, and is vice president of the American Philosophical Society for 10 years, becomes a member of the American Commission on Electrical Engineering, and for several years was a member of the editorial board of the American Science magazine. He lectured in many cities and wrote a textbook on elementary chemistry (1870), and then a textbook on physics (1892). Every year, George Barker less and less engaged in theoretical problems and more - applied issues, speaking as an adviser. Health every year it became worse and worse. May 24, 1910 George Frederick Barker dies. ^[one]

Research in Organic Chemistry

Since 1967, he has been carefully considering the pressing issues of organic chemistry. Dr. Barker proposes a theory that recognized that formic acid is carboxylic acid. He argued this with the following facts. First, the formation of formic acid occurs through the path of partial oxidation of carbon, and, secondly, the result of the oxidation of carbonic acid is formic acid. Thus, on these facts, he formed the conclusion that formic acid is, indeed, carboxylic acid. ^[2]

Studies of the aurora spectra

During his lifetime in New Haven, beginning in 1871, George Barker joined the analysis of the auroral spectra. After a long and very painstaking work, he wrote a note “The Spectra of the Aurora Borealis”, which appeared in the journal ^[3]

as early as November 9, 1871. The result of his work in this area was the discovery of a new wavelength, which at that time was not characteristic of the auroral spectra. A wavelength of 502 nm was not available to the observer. But after the research of Dr. Barker, this seemingly non-existent length appeared in all reference books. George Barker added:

.

Later, on October 24, 1872, he presented his second contribution on the aforementioned topic, supplementing it with several facts. The same shine as in 1871 was distinguished by its radiant crimson color and characteristic shape. Dr. Barker noted that there was nothing new in the line that appeared in the spectrum. Together with Dr. Barker, was his friend Hermann Vogel . What he saw fascinated him when he first looked at the spectrum. In this field, Dr. Barker had enormous prospects. Later, he devoted himself to the study of another topic, namely, a solar eclipse. In order to grasp new heights, he became a member of Rawlings, Wyoming. During his duty was to collect analyzes of the spectroscope. Checking the presence of either light or dark lines in the spectrum, he compared them with the results already obtained. On July 29, 1878, he compiled a full report on the article "Total Solar Eclipse" ^[4]. It is also worth noting that during this period George Barker became interested in physics. In close contact with Professor Henry Rowland , he reported some facts in an article on the topic "Edison Electric Light Efficiency" ^[5]

Research in physics

Since the 70s of the XIX century, George Barker was engaged in physics. He published a paper on the topic "New vertical galvanometer", in which he put forward the problems of the general principles of creating this instrument ^[6] . He theoretically substantiated the use of this tool, saying that it would give impetus to new discoveries in this area. Already after some time he spoke with the message to the chemical society already on the topic “Measurement of electromotive force”. In this paper ^[7] he stated:

.

Radiochemistry Research

Dr. Barker was the man who was attracted to all areas of science. Speaking about all his successes, it is worth emphasizing that he was associated with radiochemistry. George Barker can be equated with Madame Curie in terms of his contribution to chemistry in this field, since he was the first person to set up radium in his country in 1894. Radioactivity was so interesting to him that, based on experiments, he made an article on the topic "Radioactivity of thorium minerals" published in the journal of the American Philosophical Society ^[8] and continued to work hard in this direction. In this regard, I would like to note the contributions of Dr. Barker to radiochemistry. He repeated the experiments of Hoffman and Zerban on the radioactivity of a Brazilian monazite. Experiments confirmed the results of observers of previous years. Namely, the fact that thorium from this monazite is most likely radioactive. From a series of experiments, he concluded that thorium undergoes radioactive decay. Thorium accounts for one or two decays in one minute, while radium, which was also contained in this monazite, retained its active properties for several weeks.

Being an excellent physician, Dr. Barker found the use of radioactivity in medicine. In his opinion, radioactivity can be applied to organs. He said the following:

There have been cases when Dr. Barker submitted his messages very far from home. For example, in Colombia, he was always instructive to submit a message on the topic "Radioactivity in," when he spoke before the Chemical Society of Columbia University. Later, already in the USA, he formed an archive in which information about radiochemistry was updated quarterly ^[9] . The creation of this archive turned out to be possible, thanks to the enormous bibliography, which received results from ninety of the most famous researchers in this field.

The pedagogical activity of George Barker began early. The impression he made on students, according to Edgar Smith, was able to turn dry and repulsive objects into simple and fascinating things that an ordinary person could easily understand. His lectures for students were marked by clarity of presentation, and everyone loved them for their broad scope. He had a particular difficulty approaching the presentation of his subject, and his constant desire was to make the students understand all the problems he posed for them. He did his best to make all the points in the lecture clearer to all students. And, if from time to time he demanded almost impossible from students and was a little impudent, yet no serious student was offended at him. He was, in a word, a real teacher, whose sole purpose was the improvement of those he taught. In the audience he had a rare skill, in itself a unique quality as an experimenter. He knew how to inspire all those sitting, who have ever watched his lectures. They were rich in an abundance of attractive and vivid experiments. He often presented the most important topics in front of large audiences, sometimes reaching thousands of people. Soon he became known throughout the country as one of those who are able to popularize science in their country, since few could do it.

Among his colleagues on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Barker was very much appreciated. He was capable of handling increasingly confusing and perplexing problems with his inherent justice and serenity. Indeed, it was a pleasure to be associated with work. His cordial cooperation and numerous useful suggestions in solving the problems of the university were appreciated by all his colleagues.

The contribution of George Barker to literature is very significant. In 1870, his textbook on elementary, theoretical, and inorganic chemistry appeared, which was published many times and also translated into other languages. It was the first book in English in which modern chemistry was systematized. The style of the book was concise and clear. Walcott Gibbs spoke of her as "a book full of the spirit of the most advanced thoughts in science."

And in 1892, his textbook "Physics, Advanced Course" from the publisher Henry Holt & Company appeared. This textbook immediately met with a warm welcome, and became the standard among textbooks in physics.

George Barker also excelled in matters unrelated to science. For many years, he raised pressing issues on the education council in the city of Philadelphia , and there he showed an influence that will never be forgotten by the people of the city. His contribution to the municipal interests of the city allowed to review the supply of local water, the quality of the luminous gas, as well as the funds that would go to protect public buildings from lightning. At various times he was an expert in scientific matters. From 1969, he served as an expert for the state on several occasions with poison. The most famous was a case called “Lydia Sherman” in New Haven .

In the scientific world, Dr. Barker has received numerous honors and awards.

• Member of the National Academy of Sciences
• President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1879)
• Commissioner of the United States at the Paris Electric Exhibition (1881)
• Delegate to the Electrical Congress (1881)
• Vice-President of the jury for the commander of the Legion of Honor in France (1881)
• President of the American Chemical Community (1891)
• Member of the German Chemical Society
• Jury member of the World Colombian Exhibition (1893)
• Commissioner Electrical Exhibition in Philadelphia (1894)
• Member of the Royal Institute of Great Britain (1899)
• President of the American Philosophical Society (1899-1909)

Throughout his life, George Barker received the following academic honors:

• PhD of the University of Pennsylvania (1898)
• LL.D. from Elegheny College (1898)
• LL.D. from McGill University (1900)

In memory of George Barker, it was written in the memoirs of Edgar Smith ^[10] . This work tells about his life, scientific activities, as well as his amazing personal qualities.

In 1861, Dr. Barker married Maria M. Treadway from New Haven , Connecticut . The family had three daughters.

Among his personal qualities, colleagues singled out absolute honesty and loyalty, as well as the ability to be fair in everything. It is also worth noting his dedication to science. He devoted more than 50 years to science.

Dr. Barker authored biographical memoirs of such people as Friedrich August Gens , Henry Draper , John William Draper, and M. Carrie Lea.

• http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/barker-george-f.pdf
• http://www.archives.upenn.edu/faids/upt/upt50/barker_gf_guide.pdf
• http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00878/cah-00878.html
• http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/11639970/George_Frederic_Barker___July_14_1835_May_24_1910_
• http://www.quickiwiki.com/en/George_Frederick_Barker (inaccessible link)