plant in your garden, you can now easily order one on the internet. Just
‘Google’ … buy an ammonia plant.
With such a legacy it seems extraordinary that in 1959 Robert was moved
prophetically—but correctly—to confide in Jaenicke, ‘My name will not be
remembered for big things … ‘and wherever appropriate in this book, we
have tried to suggest reasons why this was so, finding that it was largely due to
a litany of confounding circumstance, orchestrated by commercial secrecy, a
catastrophic world war coupled to a pre-disposition towards Victorian
modesty.
42 One could also be excused for thinking that Robert fell into that
all too familiar group in science—of partners in discovery being ignored by
those claiming the honours.
43 But Robert’s contribution was never ignored
by Haber—indeed the opposite was true—but even so, no-one has ever
bothered to ask why Robert Le Rossignol was so appreciated by Haber. And
therein lies the final reason for his anonymity. Haber. A forgotten man after
his death in 1934, Jaenicke’s 30 years of research deposited at the MPG laid
down a treasure trove for biographers and authors have been beguiled by this
biographical ‘honey-pot’. By overlooking Jaenicke’s interview with Robert in
1959 his life was largely an empty page. But for this author, the key to fully
understanding the story of ‘fixation’ was Haber’s dislike of laboratory practice
and to those of us who are similarly inclined, we have had to ask a question of
the experimentation and engineering … well, if not Haber, who? All the clues
of course lead to just one man and in this book, we have tried to tell the story
of his life. And even though Robert may have left us and taken most of his
secrets, even today there remain a few who remember him—and indeed
Emily—and through their memories we get a last chance to look into the
shadows on the canvas of Haber’s life. And so finally, join me on a journey to
Penn to find out a little more of the man who helped increase the world’s
population from 1 million at the turn of the last century to over 7 million
today. But what would Robert have made of it? One third of us are now
obese.
Notes
1. Ronald Blythe (Foreword) and Denis Judd (Editor), The Private Diaries of
Alison Uttley 1932–1971: Author of Little Grey Rabbit and Sam Pig. (May
2009). ISBN - 10 1844680401, ISBN-13 978-1844680405. This quip is
also widely quoted on ‘the web’.
2. The term ‘Brythonic’ was derived by Celticist John Rhys, from the Welsh
word ‘Brython’, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon
or Gael. It refers to a collection of languages, predominately old Welsh, but
including Cornish, Breton, Manx and Cumbrian which were widely spoken
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
495
‘Google’ … buy an ammonia plant.
With such a legacy it seems extraordinary that in 1959 Robert was moved
prophetically—but correctly—to confide in Jaenicke, ‘My name will not be
remembered for big things … ‘and wherever appropriate in this book, we
have tried to suggest reasons why this was so, finding that it was largely due to
a litany of confounding circumstance, orchestrated by commercial secrecy, a
catastrophic world war coupled to a pre-disposition towards Victorian
modesty.
42 One could also be excused for thinking that Robert fell into that
all too familiar group in science—of partners in discovery being ignored by
those claiming the honours.
43 But Robert’s contribution was never ignored
by Haber—indeed the opposite was true—but even so, no-one has ever
bothered to ask why Robert Le Rossignol was so appreciated by Haber. And
therein lies the final reason for his anonymity. Haber. A forgotten man after
his death in 1934, Jaenicke’s 30 years of research deposited at the MPG laid
down a treasure trove for biographers and authors have been beguiled by this
biographical ‘honey-pot’. By overlooking Jaenicke’s interview with Robert in
1959 his life was largely an empty page. But for this author, the key to fully
understanding the story of ‘fixation’ was Haber’s dislike of laboratory practice
and to those of us who are similarly inclined, we have had to ask a question of
the experimentation and engineering … well, if not Haber, who? All the clues
of course lead to just one man and in this book, we have tried to tell the story
of his life. And even though Robert may have left us and taken most of his
secrets, even today there remain a few who remember him—and indeed
Emily—and through their memories we get a last chance to look into the
shadows on the canvas of Haber’s life. And so finally, join me on a journey to
Penn to find out a little more of the man who helped increase the world’s
population from 1 million at the turn of the last century to over 7 million
today. But what would Robert have made of it? One third of us are now
obese.
Notes
1. Ronald Blythe (Foreword) and Denis Judd (Editor), The Private Diaries of
Alison Uttley 1932–1971: Author of Little Grey Rabbit and Sam Pig. (May
2009). ISBN - 10 1844680401, ISBN-13 978-1844680405. This quip is
also widely quoted on ‘the web’.
2. The term ‘Brythonic’ was derived by Celticist John Rhys, from the Welsh
word ‘Brython’, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon
or Gael. It refers to a collection of languages, predominately old Welsh, but
including Cornish, Breton, Manx and Cumbrian which were widely spoken
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
495