those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit on
mankind.’ Ekstrand concluded his … speech thus;
Geheimrat Professor Haber. This country’s Academy of Sciences has
awarded you the 1918 Nobel Prize for Chemistry in recognition of your
great services in the solution of the problem of directly combining atmospheric nitrogen with hydrogen. A solution to this problem has been
repeatedly attempted before, but you were the first to provide the industrial
solution and thus to create an exceedingly important means of improving
the standards of agriculture and the well-being of mankind. We congratulate you on this triumph in the service of your country and the whole of
humanity. Please, accept now your prize from the President of the Nobel
Foundation.
Haber’s acceptance speech
46 followed the next day and similarly confined
itself to the historical development of the ‘Haber process’ and its industrialisation by the BASF. The tone of his speech was in keeping with the ‘humanitarian’ reason for his award and this was summed up in two final
sentences, firstly;
… in combination with other method of fixation … they relieve us of future
worries caused by the exhaustion of the saltpetre deposits that has
threatened us for these 20 years …’
and then, as Sir William Crooks had exhorted all those years before (Chap. 2);
… the chemical industry comes to the aid of the farmer who, in the good
earth, changes stones into bread …
But as Haber had done at every opportunity in the past, he made time to
recognise Robert Le Rossignol’s contribution to his award from the Nobel
platform, such as with;
During the course of these investigations, together with my young friend
and co-worker Robert Le Rossignol, whose work I would like to mention
here with particular sincerity and gratitude … and
The construction and operation (carried out in collaboration with Robert Le
Rossignol) of a small-scale plant …
Now, in the history of the most coveted prize in science, such recognition—
immensely important to those who had contributed to a prize but were never
342
D. Sheppard
mankind.’ Ekstrand concluded his … speech thus;
Geheimrat Professor Haber. This country’s Academy of Sciences has
awarded you the 1918 Nobel Prize for Chemistry in recognition of your
great services in the solution of the problem of directly combining atmospheric nitrogen with hydrogen. A solution to this problem has been
repeatedly attempted before, but you were the first to provide the industrial
solution and thus to create an exceedingly important means of improving
the standards of agriculture and the well-being of mankind. We congratulate you on this triumph in the service of your country and the whole of
humanity. Please, accept now your prize from the President of the Nobel
Foundation.
Haber’s acceptance speech
46 followed the next day and similarly confined
itself to the historical development of the ‘Haber process’ and its industrialisation by the BASF. The tone of his speech was in keeping with the ‘humanitarian’ reason for his award and this was summed up in two final
sentences, firstly;
… in combination with other method of fixation … they relieve us of future
worries caused by the exhaustion of the saltpetre deposits that has
threatened us for these 20 years …’
and then, as Sir William Crooks had exhorted all those years before (Chap. 2);
… the chemical industry comes to the aid of the farmer who, in the good
earth, changes stones into bread …
But as Haber had done at every opportunity in the past, he made time to
recognise Robert Le Rossignol’s contribution to his award from the Nobel
platform, such as with;
During the course of these investigations, together with my young friend
and co-worker Robert Le Rossignol, whose work I would like to mention
here with particular sincerity and gratitude … and
The construction and operation (carried out in collaboration with Robert Le
Rossignol) of a small-scale plant …
Now, in the history of the most coveted prize in science, such recognition—
immensely important to those who had contributed to a prize but were never
342
D. Sheppard