was drawn up at Haber’s insistence. He demanded that the company also
support his efforts to synthesise ammonia—seen both as a vindication of his
confidence in its viability and in Robert’s work. By this time there were
abundantly clear indicators of Haber’s appreciation of Robert Le Rossignol,
viz, choosing him over other talented members of his department at Karlsruhe
to tackle the ammonia problem, entrusting him with the translation of part of
his book and the experimentation upon which his reputation depended,
recognition of all this through his appointment as personal assistant, and then
negotiation of a separate contract with BASF which clearly depended upon
Robert’s participation. None of this carried much weight with BASF however, but they reluctantly agreed the contract, Haber noting later that it was;
… only out of consideration for my wishes and not out of confidence in the
matter itself ….
15
These contracts showed how eager BASF were to support arc research and
how slow its leadership was to support ammonia synthesis. Haber referred to
this in his Nobel acceptance speech,
16 in that the company;
thought so highly of my efforts to obtain improved efficiency from electrical
energy in the combining of nitrogen and oxygen, as to get in touch with me in
1908 and – by providing the resources – to facilitate my work on the subject:
whereas they agreed with every caution to the proposal to back me in the high
pressure synthesis of ammonia as well, approving it only with hesitation ….
Through this second contract, Haber secured a larger salary for Robert
17 to
continue working for him, describing him to BASF as ‘indispensable’.
17 He
also sought assurance that BASF would look favourably on him and help him
in his career.
17 Restrictions were again placed on publication and cooperation,
and Haber received 6000–8000 Marks per year until February 1911, (later
re-negotiated) together with a share of the earnings (‘royalties’) from any
patentable application over the patent’s lifetime. During this time, Robert was
essentially paid by the BASF but only via Haber, and at no time did the
company ever take direct responsibility for the young man.
Two other aspects of this second contract are also interesting. Haber felt
guilty that previous partners who had turned his mind towards the ammonia
problem, and who had paid him handsomely, were not now involved. In fact,
Haber dropped any remaining commitment to the Margulies brothers in
favour of the BASF—a point the brothers pursued later. He therefore wrote
to the Board of Directors of BASF asking whether they would share any
7 Taking Care of Business
149
support his efforts to synthesise ammonia—seen both as a vindication of his
confidence in its viability and in Robert’s work. By this time there were
abundantly clear indicators of Haber’s appreciation of Robert Le Rossignol,
viz, choosing him over other talented members of his department at Karlsruhe
to tackle the ammonia problem, entrusting him with the translation of part of
his book and the experimentation upon which his reputation depended,
recognition of all this through his appointment as personal assistant, and then
negotiation of a separate contract with BASF which clearly depended upon
Robert’s participation. None of this carried much weight with BASF however, but they reluctantly agreed the contract, Haber noting later that it was;
… only out of consideration for my wishes and not out of confidence in the
matter itself ….
15
These contracts showed how eager BASF were to support arc research and
how slow its leadership was to support ammonia synthesis. Haber referred to
this in his Nobel acceptance speech,
16 in that the company;
thought so highly of my efforts to obtain improved efficiency from electrical
energy in the combining of nitrogen and oxygen, as to get in touch with me in
1908 and – by providing the resources – to facilitate my work on the subject:
whereas they agreed with every caution to the proposal to back me in the high
pressure synthesis of ammonia as well, approving it only with hesitation ….
Through this second contract, Haber secured a larger salary for Robert
17 to
continue working for him, describing him to BASF as ‘indispensable’.
17 He
also sought assurance that BASF would look favourably on him and help him
in his career.
17 Restrictions were again placed on publication and cooperation,
and Haber received 6000–8000 Marks per year until February 1911, (later
re-negotiated) together with a share of the earnings (‘royalties’) from any
patentable application over the patent’s lifetime. During this time, Robert was
essentially paid by the BASF but only via Haber, and at no time did the
company ever take direct responsibility for the young man.
Two other aspects of this second contract are also interesting. Haber felt
guilty that previous partners who had turned his mind towards the ammonia
problem, and who had paid him handsomely, were not now involved. In fact,
Haber dropped any remaining commitment to the Margulies brothers in
favour of the BASF—a point the brothers pursued later. He therefore wrote
to the Board of Directors of BASF asking whether they would share any
7 Taking Care of Business
149