Hermann Römpp

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Hermann Römpp (born February 18, 1901 in Weiden, formerly Horb am Neckar district, today in Dornhan near Sulz am Neckar , † April 27, 1964 ibid) was a German chemist, teacher and scientific author.

Life

Römpp was the son of the wagon master and farmer Christian Römpp and his wife Dorothea. From 1922 to 1926 he studied natural sciences with a focus on botany at the University of Tübingen , where he was awarded a doctorate with a botanical thesis. rer. nat. doctorate and passed his state examination for teaching. He began his career as a study assessor and became a teacher in 1941. Until 1945 he worked as a chemistry teacher at Ludwigsburg high schools and grammar schools. During this time he wrote numerous popular science articles, most of which appeared in the magazine " Kosmos ".

In 1934 Römpp became a member of the National Socialist Teachers' Association and published his genetics and race studies for everyone . In this publication, the “head of the technical school for racial studies in higher schools” related race and chemistry in order to prove that “ chemistry is essentially a science developed by peoples determined by the north race ”.

In 1938 his book Chemical Magic Potions was published, which described the chemistry and mode of action of intoxicants and narcotics, plant poisons, alcohol and nicotine, solvents and sleeping pills. After 130,000 copies had already been sold, the book was taken off the market after a ban issued by the Propaganda Ministry .

As early as 1938, Römpp had developed the plan to write a German-language chemical dictionary. In 1943, a contract was signed between Römpp and the Franckh'schen Verlagbuchhandlung . Römpp began working on the chemical dictionary during the Second World War . After the war he was classified as “not burdened” in 1946 and then worked as a freelance writer.

In 1947 the chemistry lexicon was published by Franckh'schen Verlagshandlung in single deliveries with a print run of 5000 copies of around 80 pages each, which were completed in the following year with the first complete edition in one volume. The first edition contained 7700 key words, together with company and brand names over 10,000 key words. Hermann Römpp always worked to keep his lexicon up to date and so the second, revised and expanded edition appeared in 1950, this time in two volumes. The following editions were also published under his authorship. By the 5th edition in 1962, the number of keywords had grown to 28,850.

His popular books “Organic Chemistry in a Test Glass” and “Chemistry of Everyday Life” were bestsellers during the war and have been translated into Spanish, Dutch and Czech. Both volumes were repeatedly reissued by Kosmos Verlag and updated under the direction of Hermann Raaf . Experiments and background knowledge of chemistry gave students insightful knowledge about the meaning of chemical substances. By 1980 over 100,000 copies per volume had been published.

In 1961, Kurt Georg Kiesinger , Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg , awarded Römpp the title of professor in recognition of his services to the promotion of chemical sciences . When he was awarded the Silver Wilhelm Bölsche Medal by Kosmos Verlag in 1964, Römpp - angry about the award of the Golden Wilhelm Bölsche Medal to Bernhard Grzimek - apologized for illness. After a protracted liver disease , he died of a heart attack in April 1964 while he was still working on the 6th edition of the chemistry lexicon. After his death, his works were mostly reworked by Hermann Raaf, Erhard Ühlein or Josef Schurz .

Publications

  • Isotopes, 1962 ( Kosmos Library series ).
  • Our daily bread. Nutrition for Everyone, 1959.
  • Growth substances, 1958 ( Kosmos library series ).
  • Trace elements, 1954 ( Kosmos Library series ).
  • Chemistry of the Future, 1950 ( Kosmos Library series ).
  • The wonder world of atoms, 1949.
  • Atom Lexicon, 1949.
  • The future of the earth and man, 1948 ( Kosmos-Bibliothek series ).
  • Inorganic Chemistry, 1948.
  • Chemistry Lexicon. Stuttgart 1947; 2nd edition in 2 volumes in 1950; 5th edition 1962; later: Römpp Lexikon Chemie .
  • Life story of a carbon atom, 1946 ( Kosmos Library series , published under the pseudonym "Dr. Helmut Schmid").
  • Oxygen in Nature and Technology, 1942 ( Kosmos Library series ).
  • Chemistry of Metals, 1941.
  • Organic chemistry in a test glass, 1940.
  • Chemical Potions, 1939.
  • Chemical experiments that succeed, 1939.
  • Chemical treasure trove, 1939.
  • Everyday recipe book, 1937.
  • Everyday chemistry. Practical chemistry for everyone, 1936.
  • Heredity and Race Studies for Everyone, 1933.
  • Phenomena of Life, 1933.
  • The relationships in the genus Veronica . Dissertation. Tübingen 1928.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Leonhard A. Hütter: Experiencing, telling and organizing knowledge: Hermann Römpps Chemiebücher ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Wissenschaftliche Nachrichten 122, July / August 2003, PDF, pp. 27–30 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmbf.gv.at
  2. ↑ a b Helmut Maier : Chemists in the “Third Reich”. The German Chemical Society and the Association of German Chemists in the Nazi Ruling Apparatus , Wiley, Weinheim 2015, ISBN 978-3-527-33846-7 , p. 325 ff.
personal data
SURNAME Römpp, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist and specialist author
DATE OF BIRTH February 18, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Weiden near Horb / Neckar
DATE OF DEATH April 27, 1964
Place of death Weiden near Horb / Neckar