Henry Taube

Henry Taube became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1942.

He married Mary Alice Wesche in 1952 and the couple had three children named Karl Andreas Taube (born in 1957) who grew up to become an anthropologist, Heinrich Taube who later became a music professor and Linda Taube who became a mohair retailer. His stepdaughter Marianna Taube, who was a teacher, died of cancer in 1998.

His hobbies included classical music primarily opera and gardening.

Henry Taube was born on 30 November 1915 at Neudorf, Saskatchewan in Canada. His parents, Samuel Taube and Albertina Tiledetzski were farmers. He had three older brothers.

At the age of 12, he shifted to Regina in order to pursue high school education at Luther College. After completing his studies, he began working at the college as laboratory assistant for Paul Liefeld.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1935 and completed his Master of Science degree in 1937 from the University of Saskatchewan.

He then joined the University of California at Berkeley and completed his PhD in Chemistry in 1940. His graduate research was on the ‘photodecomposition of chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide in solution’.

After his education he worked in Berkeley as instructor in chemistry until 1941. Though he applied for work in major universities across Canada, he did not receive positive responses and in 1941 joined Cornell University as assistant professor. He remained there until 1946.

While working at Cornell University he focused on research concerning isotopes. His study showed that in water the ions of metals develop bonds with water molecules thereby producing hydrates or coordination compounds. The geometry and strength of these coordination compounds vary according to the identity and state of oxidation of the ion.

In the presence of specific chemical species like chlorine ions, ammonia etc, analogous coordination compounds when engaged in such reactions form ‘ligands’.

During the World War II, he served at the National Defense Research Committee and later in 1946 joined the University of Chicago as assistant professor. He worked there until 1961 as associate professor and later became a full professor. Between 1956 and 1959, he also headed the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago; however, he was not keen on administrative work.

Beginning in 1956, apart from his academic career Henry Taube worked as a consultant at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was associated with the laboratory until the 1970s.

Henry Taube was a renowned chemist noted for his studies of electron transfer reactions primarily in metal complexes and research regarding ‘redox’ reactions or oxidation – reduction reactions.