eventually received only *10% of what was due to him, a point we try to
throw some light on in later chapters. Even so, he also told Chirnside that
what he received was ‘enough for any man!’ and he would certainly return
from Germany far wealthier than when he arrived.
14.6 The Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 1918
The period from 1906 to 1918 was clearly an amazing time during Robert Le
Rossignol’s life. He and Fritz Haber had solved one of the most difficult
problems confronting modern chemistry and in doing so they created the
foundations for an industrial application that became the most important
technological development of the 20th century. Equally importantly maybe,
Robert became a husband, a father, and he began to accrue the kind of wealth
that should allow him to support, comfort, and indeed cosset his family
throughout their lives. At the same time, he had seen suffering, not only in
Ruhleben but across Germany because for many Germans, starvation and
despair followed military and political collapse. Throughout his long-life
Robert was acutely aware of the dichotomy in the human condition, privilege
versus poverty. Even as an ‘impecunious’ young man—as he described
himself to Chirnside (Chap. 18)—he was content to agree to divert a proportion of his potential earnings to set up the endowment fund at the
Hochschule (Chap. 7). Late in life he was to follow his father, using his
‘rewards’ to establish substantial legacies and ‘help those less fortunate’. But as
Robert was leaving Germany with Haber’s financial legacy, another legacy—
the work he did at Karlsruhe on high pressure chemistry—was helping the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) decide the award of the Nobel
Prize for Chemistry for 1918.
During his lifetime, Robert may not have been fully aware of events here.
Only in the late 1960s—in Robert’s 9th decade—would the nominations and
considerations of the Academy be made available to those who were interested
enough to enquire of events that had occurred some fifty years earlier.
79
However, when the documentation became available, Haber was already a
forgotten man, his name living on in chemistry largely through the
‘Haber/Haber-Bosch’ processes, and the ‘Born-Haber cycle’.
80 There were no
substantial objective biographies of Haber until long after Robert’s death and
Robert had already put this part of his life to rest. But for the Academy at the
time, consideration of an award for those involved in the creation and
development of the technology of nitrogen ‘fixation’ proved to be the most
controversial episode in its history.
14 Robert’s War 1914–1918
307
throw some light on in later chapters. Even so, he also told Chirnside that
what he received was ‘enough for any man!’ and he would certainly return
from Germany far wealthier than when he arrived.
14.6 The Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 1918
The period from 1906 to 1918 was clearly an amazing time during Robert Le
Rossignol’s life. He and Fritz Haber had solved one of the most difficult
problems confronting modern chemistry and in doing so they created the
foundations for an industrial application that became the most important
technological development of the 20th century. Equally importantly maybe,
Robert became a husband, a father, and he began to accrue the kind of wealth
that should allow him to support, comfort, and indeed cosset his family
throughout their lives. At the same time, he had seen suffering, not only in
Ruhleben but across Germany because for many Germans, starvation and
despair followed military and political collapse. Throughout his long-life
Robert was acutely aware of the dichotomy in the human condition, privilege
versus poverty. Even as an ‘impecunious’ young man—as he described
himself to Chirnside (Chap. 18)—he was content to agree to divert a proportion of his potential earnings to set up the endowment fund at the
Hochschule (Chap. 7). Late in life he was to follow his father, using his
‘rewards’ to establish substantial legacies and ‘help those less fortunate’. But as
Robert was leaving Germany with Haber’s financial legacy, another legacy—
the work he did at Karlsruhe on high pressure chemistry—was helping the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) decide the award of the Nobel
Prize for Chemistry for 1918.
During his lifetime, Robert may not have been fully aware of events here.
Only in the late 1960s—in Robert’s 9th decade—would the nominations and
considerations of the Academy be made available to those who were interested
enough to enquire of events that had occurred some fifty years earlier.
79
However, when the documentation became available, Haber was already a
forgotten man, his name living on in chemistry largely through the
‘Haber/Haber-Bosch’ processes, and the ‘Born-Haber cycle’.
80 There were no
substantial objective biographies of Haber until long after Robert’s death and
Robert had already put this part of his life to rest. But for the Academy at the
time, consideration of an award for those involved in the creation and
development of the technology of nitrogen ‘fixation’ proved to be the most
controversial episode in its history.
14 Robert’s War 1914–1918
307