chemistry

Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian

Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian rather than just read about it. In short: Haroutioun Hovanes "H.H." Chakmakjian (Armenian: Հարություն Հովանես Չաքմաքչյան; 20 October 1878, in Adana, Ottoman Empire − 22 May 1973, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States) was a published scientist, as well as the father of American composer Alan Hovhaness. A professor of chemistry at Tufts University, Chakmakjian wrote numerous books in several languages.

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Reference excerpt

Haroutioun Hovanes "H.H." Chakmakjian (Armenian: Հարություն Հովանես Չաքմաքչյան; 20 October 1878, in Adana, Ottoman Empire − 22 May 1973, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States) was a published scientist, as well as the father of American composer Alan Hovhaness. A professor of chemistry at Tufts University, Chakmakjian wrote numerous books in several languages. His notable publications included an English-Armenian dictionary which is believed to be the first of its kind in the modern Armenian language. The dictionary has become an enduring work of Armenian lexicography and remains regularly used today. His other publications included a 700-page history of Armenia.

Family/early background Chakmakjian was of Armenian background and was born in Adana, Ottoman Empire on 20 October 1878. His surname (which derives from the word Turkish çakmak, meaning "flintlock") means "gunsmith," a name given to one of his ancestors who had been skilled in creating finely engraved and decorated firearms. Born in 1878, his parents were Hovanes L. Chakmakjian and Cohar Garabed Janbazian, both farmers. He studied at the Abcarian (Apcarian) High School in Adana, then studied for just over one year at the Antoura French Missionary College in Beirut.

Career Chakmakjian began his career as a teacher and taught in Gesaria (Kayseri today) and in Giresun. He taught in Beirut in the early years of the 20th century, during the time of one of the early Ottoman massacres of Armenians. Rather than return to his birthplace of Adana, he decided to take a ship to France. He subsequently moved to Stamford, Connecticut and eventually settled in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied at Harvard University from fall 1905 to spring 1908. He re-enrolled at Harvard again in February 1912, obtaining an AB degree in June 1913 (as a member of the class of 1909). He later served as a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Tufts College, and was affiliated with the Tufts Medical School on Huntington Avenue in Boston. He retired from the medical school in 1949. Thereafter, in 1955, Chakmakjian retired from Tufts University as a professor emeritus.

Literary work In addition to his scientific work, in 1908 Chakmakjian became the chief-editor for The Hairenik newspaper while studying at Harvard, remaining in that position until February 1912. He also authored A Comprehensive Dictionary English-Armenian of approximately 1,600 pages published under the name H. H. Chakmakjian, printed in 1922 by Yeran Press in Boston. The dictionary was republished several times till that date. Other scholarly articles included topics related to chemistry, biochemistry, and the Armenian language. Among his other publications was a book of about 700 pages on the history of Armenia published in 1917.

Personal life On May 28, 1910, in Somerville, Massachusetts, he married Madeleine Scott (died October 3, 1930), an American woman of Scottish and English descent who had graduated from Wellesley College. They had one son, Alan Hovhannes, a future composer who reached international fame, who was born on 8 March 1911. Chakmakjian died of bronchopneumonia in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts on May 22, 1973, aged 94.

Honors Chakmakjian was a member of the American Chemical Society, was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers.

Publications Some of Chakmakjian's publications include:

Sahmanadrakan kaṛavarutiunner, Volume 1 (English: Constitutional Governments) (1910: Boston) Armeno-American letter writer, containing a large variety of model letters adapted to all occasions letters of friendship, letters of congratulation and condolence, letters of love, business letters. (1914: Boston) Skapeni charachchi hnaramtutiunnere: katakergutiin erek araruatsov (Armenian translation of Molière's play The Miser) (Boston: 1914) Kerakan-entertsaran: kerakan ev mayreni lezu (English: Literary reader: Literature and the mother language) (Boston: 1916) Endardzak patmutiun hayots: skizbēn minchev mer orere patkerazard (Comprehensive history of Armenians: from the beginning till today) (Boston: 1917) A Comprehensive Dictionary, English-Armenian (Boston: 1922) Hairenik and Its Workers: Memories of Seventeen Years (Published in the Armenian Review: 1979)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian

In research: Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1878 births, 1973 deaths, American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian in simple terms?

Why does Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian.