Donald J. Cram

Crystal structure of nitrobenzene in a “cage” described by Cram et al.

Donald James Cram (born April 22, 1919 in Chester , Windsor County , Vermont , † June 17, 2001 in Palm Desert , California ) was an American chemist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry .

life and work

Donald J. Cram was born in Chester, the son of an officer and lawyer and mother of German descent. At the age of four he was already reading children's books. He himself described his childhood as adventurous and idyllic. His father died at the age of 53. He completed the 12th grade in a small private school on Long Island, New York. Here he also received a 4-year scholarship.

After graduating from high school, Cram studied chemistry at Rollins College , Florida and the University of Nebraska . During his studies he acquired a pilot's license, took part in several theater performances, sang in a choir, produced his own radio program and read a lot, especially Dostoevsky, Spengler and Tolstoy. After graduating, he worked for the National Buscuit Campany in New York, first in sales and later in the laboratory. When he became more involved in the research work in this context and was able to build on his experiences during his studies, this work magically attracted him. He was thrilled to always be on the lookout for new phenomena. In complete contrast to the advice of his first chemistry professor at the university, he opted for a scientific career. In 1942 he received an offer for a teaching assistantship at the University of Nebraska. He also took part in a research project at Merk & Co. to penicillin, which was developed by Dr. Max Tisher (1899–1977) was supervised. This helped him to get a job at Harvard University after the end of World War II and to put the dissertation he had started on a solid basis. Here he works very closely with the scientists Prof. Paul Doughty Barlett (1907–1997) and Robert B. Woodward (1917–1979). After receiving his doctorate in organic chemistry with Louis Frederick Fieser at Harvard University in 1947, he went to the University of California in Los Angeles , where he became a professor in 1956. It was a great advantage for him that during these years UCLA developed into a world-class institution with a great international reputation. In 1952 he established Cram's rule , which allows predictions about the course of diastereomeric reactions.

He proposed theories about catalytic asymmetric induction (e.g. the aforementioned Cram rule) and investigated cyclophanes in the 1950s and resorcinarenes , molecules that can serve as transport capsules , from the 1980s . In his scientific career he wrote three scientific books, together with GS Hammond the textbook for “Organic Chemistry”, together with DH Richards and George S. Hammond (1921–2005) the textbook “Elements of Organic Chemistry” and together with JM Cram das Book "Essence of Organic Chemistry".

Cram was married twice, his second wife was Jane Maxwell Cram, and he had no children. He died on June 17, 2001 in Palm Dessert.

Awards

In 1987, together with Jean-Marie Lehn and Charles Pedersen, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity ( supramolecular chemistry ). In 1993 he received the National Medal of Science , 1986 the Willard Gibbs Medal , 1992 the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences . The American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry in 1965 , the Arthur C. Cope Award in 1974 , the Glenn T. Seaborg Medal in 1989 and the Tolman Award in 1984 .

Cram received honorary doctorates from Uppsale University in 1977 and the University of Southern California in 1983.

In 1961 Cram was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and in 1967 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Fonts

with George S. Hammond Organic Chemistry , 1959, 2nd edition, McGraw Hill 1964, 3rd edition with James B. Hendrickson 1970

Web links

Information from the Nobel Foundation on the 1987 award ceremony for Donald J. Cram (English)
Nobel e-museum, Donald J. Cram - autobiography
Literature by and about Donald J. Cram in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

↑ Juyoung Yoon, Carolyn B. Knobler, Emily F. Maverick and Donald J. Cram: Dissymmetric new hemicarcerands containing four bridges of different lengths . In: Chem. Commun. . No. 14, 1997, pp. 1303-1304. doi : 10.1039 / a701187c .
↑ Wilhelm Odelberg (ed.), Donald J. Cram, Les Prix Nobel from the. The 1987 Nobel Prizes, Nobel Foundation, Stockholm 1988
↑ biographical data, publications and Academic pedigree of Donald J. Cram in academictree.org, accessed on January 1, 2018th
↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter C. (PDF; 1.3 MB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Accessed February 26, 2018 (English).

personal data
SURNAME	Cram, Donald J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Cram, Donald James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American chemist, Nobel laureate in chemistry
DATE OF BIRTH	April 22, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chester , Vermont
DATE OF DEATH	June 17, 2001
Place of death	Palm Desert , California

[1] Juyoung Yoon, Carolyn B. Knobler, Emily F. Maverick and Donald J. Cram: Dissymmetric new hemicarcerands containing four bridges of different lengths . In: Chem. Commun. . No. 14, 1997, pp. 1303-1304. doi : 10.1039 / a701187c .

[2] Wilhelm Odelberg (ed.), Donald J. Cram, Les Prix Nobel from the. The 1987 Nobel Prizes, Nobel Foundation, Stockholm 1988

[3] raphical data, publications and Academic pedigree of Donald J. Cram in academictree.org, accessed on January 1, 2018th

[4] Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter C. (PDF; 1.3 MB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Accessed February 26, 2018 (English).