The life and work of Frederick Challenger

Richard Bushby Centre for Molecular Nanoscience (CMNS) University of Leeds

Professor FS Challenger 1887-1983 Professor of Organic Chemistry (Leeds) 1930-1953

Halifax ~1890

Born Halifax 15 December 1887 Son of Rev. S Challenger: minister of the Unified Methodist Church 1900-1904 Ashville College Harrogate 1904-1907 Derby Technical College Beginning of the friendship with Jamieson Walker 1907 London external B Sc (honours) in Chemistry

Ashville College Harrogate

Derby Technical College 1876 with additions 1899

FS Kipping with his wife in 1938

1907-1910 ‘Research Scholar’ at University College Nottingham with FS Kipping Initial appointment £25 for six months Papers on organosilicon and organophosphorus chemistry including the first synthesis and resolution of an optically active compound based on an asymmetric tetrahedral silicon atom. 1910 ‘1851 Exhibition’ Scholarship 1910 Membership of The Chemical Society

Wallach Nobel prize for work on terpenes 1910

Chemical laboratory Göttingen in 1890

1910 ‘1851 Exhibition’ Scholarship 1910-1912 work in Göttingen with Wallach PhD 1912 on the chemistry of Thujaketonic acid Acquaintance of Professor Alfred Koch (Director of the School of Agricultural Bacteriology 1901- ) 1912 Promotion related to an oral examination in chemistry, physics and agricultural bacteriology

‘….microbiological chemistry , of which I gained some elementary knowledge in the laboratory of Professor Alfred Koch….’ FS Challenger 1973

University of Birmingham 1912-1920 (Professor of Chemistry PF Frankland) 1912, Assistant lecturer and demonstrator 1915, Promoted to lecturer 1919, Acting head of department 1920, D.Sc (Birmingham) ‘Organic derivatives of silicon’ University of Manchester 1920-1930 (from 1923 A Lapworth was head of Chemistry and R Robinson head of organic chemistry) 1920, Senior lecturer in Chemistry 1922, married Ester Yates

Frankland Lapworth Robinson

‘….a keen attraction to microbiological chemistry ….which I maintained at Manchester’ FS Challenger 1973

Work on fungal metabolism (origins of kojic, citric, malic and oxalic acids)

University of Leeds Chemistry Department

J B Cohen 1904-1924 C K Ingold 1924-1930 F S Challenger 1930-1953

Department part of the ‘Baines Wing’ 1908-1933 New (present) Building 1933-

Front Row: H. Tomlinson, C.G. Durdy, C.H. Douglas Clark, C.W..Shoppee, J.C. Gregory, W. A. Wightman, H. Burton, W. Lowson, M.H. Dawson, R.W. Whytlaw-Gray, F. Challenger, F. L. Usher, J. W. Baker, F. R. Gross, R. S. Bradley, E. Rothstein, J. Hume, J. Colvin, H. Whittaker

Leeds Chemistry Department outside the ‘new’ building 1934/5

Teaching

1931 Forest of Dean deaths of two children attributed to ‘Gosio Gas’ – the volatile form of arsenic formed by the action of fungi on the arsenical green pigments used in wallpaper and in clothing. This gas was incorrectly identified by Gosio as Et2AsH. Challenger correctly identified it as Me3As J. Chem. Soc., 1933, 95

S brevicaulis growing on

breadcrumbs Clean air

Trap in acidic HgCl2 solution Giving a ppt. of ‘Me3As.HgCl2’

Inject a sterile solution of As2O3 or Na2MeAsO3

or NaMeHAsO3

Research

In a similar manner and using S. brevicaulis, Peicillium notatum, etc. Na2SeO3 or NaMeSeO2 gave Me2Se J. Chem. Soc., 1934, 68 J. Chem. Soc., 1942, 574 K2TeO3 gave Me2Te J. Chem. Soc., 1939, 574 Various antimony compounds such as H3SbO4 gave Me3Sb Barnard thesis, Leeds 1937 Clearly there is a ‘universal’ methylating agent This is now known to be (usually) S-adenosyl methionine…..one of a group of naturally occurring methylsulphonium compounds the first examples of which were also first identified in biological systems by Challenger’s group For example they discovered Me2S+CH2CH2CO2H Cl- and having shown that the odour released when red marine algae were exposed to the air was Me2S they suggested that this was the source. In 1954 they showed that the methyl group of methionine was transferred in biomethylation (using 14C radiolabelling) in both the formation of Me3As and Me2Se. J. Chem. Soc., 1954, 1760

….it had a funny smell….. ..the odour (of Me2Te) could easily be detected in the vicinity of those engaged in the work although they had never come into contact with organic derivatives of tellurium ….. As small quantities of dimethyl telluride were occasionally used in the laboratory and the odour was then perceptible so the air drawn through the cultures was obtained by means of a pipe from outside the building…Judged by the intensity of odour produced………J. Chem. Soc. 1939, 163 ..an odour of methyl hydrogen selenide….. identified by its odour and……. a sweet ester-like odour…. An odour of acetaldehyde was noticed….. an intense odour of an alkylselenothiol…no odour of an alkyl selenium compound was observed……. showed the odours to be identical………..J. Chem. Soc. 1942, 570 ..an odour resembling that of octyl alcohol…an odour similar to that of 5-methylheptan-2-one…a strong phenolic odour…… J Chem Soc 1953 1837 …a faint odour of carbon disulphide……the odour of ethane-1,2-thiol……a butter-like odour……the odour of piperidine…….the solution smelled of ammonia……these had a slightly stronger smell…..J Chem Soc 1953, 294 ..a musty smell……the smell of a freshly opened corpse….a mixture of rotten eggs and garlic ……Biochem. J. 1955, 372

Of pebbles on a Welsh beach ‘….the freshly cleaved surfaces of the pebbles smelt faintly of thionaphthalene’ FS Challenger 1970s

Sulphur compounds from Kimmeridge Shale Oil (Dorset)

J Chem Soc, 1925, 166 J Inst Petrol Technol, 1926, 12, 106 Chem & Ind, 1929, 48, 622 Many other papers on: The organic chemistry of chemistry (particularly novel heterocyclic compounds) and the organic chemistry of compounds of silicon, phosphorous, bismuth etc. Some of his last papers were concerned with aberrant amino acid metabolism in humans.

….and he was a lovely old gent….. (Reminiscence of Don Grayson – formerly head of Chemistry at Ashville College)

Main Sources 1. ‘Frederick Challenger 1887-1983: chemist and biochemist’, T. S. Chasteen and R. Bentley, Appl. Organomet. Chem., 2003, 17, 201. 2. ‘The Chemistry Department of the University of Leeds’, F. Challenger, J. Roy. Inst.

Chem., April 1953. 3. ‘The story of the United Methodist Church’, Ed. H. Smith, J. E. Swallow and W.

Treffry, pub Henry Hooks, London 4. University of Leeds, Department of Chemistry archive

Thanks for access to additional archive material 1. University of Leeds central archives. Joanne Fitton 2. RSC archives. Rupert Purchase 3. Ashville College archives. Mike Burke and Don Grayson