west of Friedrichshain, and this probably became the first marital home for
the couple. Today, Marburger Strasse is part of ‘old Berlin’ and during
Robert’s time there it accommodated many apartments typical of the city
from 1880 to 1910. There was ‘old school’ elegance here. The apartments
often had two entrances, grand imposing frontages for the more well off and a
plain back entrance for the less well-to-do. The main thoroughfare of
Charlottenburg was the elegant Kurfürstendamm, modelled to some degree
by Bismarck on the grand boulevards of Haussmann’s Paris. Not long after
the street’s urbanization in 1886 it spawned residential districts, and in the
early 20th century during Robert and Emily’s time it became the lively centre
of Berlin’s social and cultural life. By 1911 however, the couple could be
found at the impressive Prinzregentenstrasse 108, Wilmersdorf, Berlin, which
lay just off the Prager Platz. Wilmersdorf has always been an affluent
middle-to-upper class, inner-city, villa and apartment area with beautiful ‘Art
Déco’ quarters. The move to Prinzregentenstrasse probably reflected the
couple’s improved financial status … but there may just well have been
another reason too.
10.3 The Scientific Union Meeting, 18 March
1910
We know that Robert and Haber were still in personal contact with one
another in Berlin at least until February 1913 (Chap. 12). Even as late as
March 1915 Haber remained cognisant of Robert’s position in Germany
(Chap. 14). Haber therefore must have been aware of Augustin’s death, and
condolences were probably offered to Robert at Berlin, although we can call
on no biographical evidence to support this conjecture. Neither do we know
if Robert was at the Scientific Union meeting to hear Haber release his
frustration and announce to an unsuspecting world that the problem of
synthetic ammonia synthesis had been solved. Haber’s lecture, later published
as a shortened version in Zeitschrift für Elektrochemi,
8 made clear the
extraordinary need in Germany of bound nitrogen for agriculture, together
with the explosives and chemical industries. Of course this represented an
‘about turn’ from the opinion expounded in his book (Chap. 2) but having
solved this difficult problem, he was now in an entirely different place. In his
talk he addressed the source(s) of bound nitrogen and included all ‘the usual
suspects’ viz, the ‘fragile’ Chile saltpetre imports, the role of fixation by plants,
the oxidation of nitrogen together with its formidable energy barrier, along
10 Of Koppel and the Kaiser
203
the couple. Today, Marburger Strasse is part of ‘old Berlin’ and during
Robert’s time there it accommodated many apartments typical of the city
from 1880 to 1910. There was ‘old school’ elegance here. The apartments
often had two entrances, grand imposing frontages for the more well off and a
plain back entrance for the less well-to-do. The main thoroughfare of
Charlottenburg was the elegant Kurfürstendamm, modelled to some degree
by Bismarck on the grand boulevards of Haussmann’s Paris. Not long after
the street’s urbanization in 1886 it spawned residential districts, and in the
early 20th century during Robert and Emily’s time it became the lively centre
of Berlin’s social and cultural life. By 1911 however, the couple could be
found at the impressive Prinzregentenstrasse 108, Wilmersdorf, Berlin, which
lay just off the Prager Platz. Wilmersdorf has always been an affluent
middle-to-upper class, inner-city, villa and apartment area with beautiful ‘Art
Déco’ quarters. The move to Prinzregentenstrasse probably reflected the
couple’s improved financial status … but there may just well have been
another reason too.
10.3 The Scientific Union Meeting, 18 March
1910
We know that Robert and Haber were still in personal contact with one
another in Berlin at least until February 1913 (Chap. 12). Even as late as
March 1915 Haber remained cognisant of Robert’s position in Germany
(Chap. 14). Haber therefore must have been aware of Augustin’s death, and
condolences were probably offered to Robert at Berlin, although we can call
on no biographical evidence to support this conjecture. Neither do we know
if Robert was at the Scientific Union meeting to hear Haber release his
frustration and announce to an unsuspecting world that the problem of
synthetic ammonia synthesis had been solved. Haber’s lecture, later published
as a shortened version in Zeitschrift für Elektrochemi,
8 made clear the
extraordinary need in Germany of bound nitrogen for agriculture, together
with the explosives and chemical industries. Of course this represented an
‘about turn’ from the opinion expounded in his book (Chap. 2) but having
solved this difficult problem, he was now in an entirely different place. In his
talk he addressed the source(s) of bound nitrogen and included all ‘the usual
suspects’ viz, the ‘fragile’ Chile saltpetre imports, the role of fixation by plants,
the oxidation of nitrogen together with its formidable energy barrier, along
10 Of Koppel and the Kaiser
203