chemistry

Russell Henry Chittenden

Russell Henry Chittenden 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 Russell Henry Chittenden rather than just read about it. In short: Russell Henry Chittenden (18 February 1856 – 26 December 1943) was an American physiological chemist. He conducted pioneering research in the biochemistry of digestion and nutrition.

Key takeaways

Russell Henry Chittenden belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Russell Henry Chittenden to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Russell Henry Chittenden from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Russell Henry Chittenden (18 February 1856 – 26 December 1943) was an American physiological chemist. He conducted pioneering research in the biochemistry of digestion and nutrition.

Early life and education He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1856, graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University in 1875, studied in Heidelberg in 1878–79, and received his doctorate at Yale in physiological chemistry in 1880. He was of English ancestry, his first ancestor in America being Major William Chittenden, an officer in the English army, who, having resigned, came to America from Cranbrook, Kent, with his wife, Joanne Sheaffe, in 1639, and settled in Guilford Connecticut. Ancestors of the professor on both his father's and his mother's side fought in the Revolutionary War.

Career He was professor of physiological chemistry at Yale from 1882 to 1922. He was director of the Sheffield Scientific School from 1898-1922. He was also professor of physiology at the Yale School of Medicine starting in 1900. From 1898 to 1903 he was also a lecturer on physiological chemistry at Columbia University, New York. He was a founding member of the American Physiological Society in 1887 and served as its president from 1895 to 1904. He was a member of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1904, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society. He was the author of Digestive Proteolysis and Physiological Economy in Nutrition (New York, 1905). During World War I, Professor Chittenden was a member of the Advisory Committee on Food Utilization and also a member of the executive committee of the National Research Council. He is often called the "father of American biochemistry". His home in New Haven is a National Historic Landmark. Chittenden advocated a low-protein diet. He wrote, "If through years and generations of habit we have become addicted to the use of undue quantities of proteid foods, quantities way beyond the physiological requirements of the body, then we have to consider the possibility that this excess of daily food may be more or less responsible for many diseased conditions, which might be obviated by more careful observance of the true physiological needs of the body."

Russell Henry Chittenden Prize An annual tradition during Yale College Class Day, the Russell Henry Chittenden Prize is "awarded to the graduating senior in the natural sciences or in mathematics who ranks highest in scholarship". This award was originally given to the highest ranking graduate earning a degree in the Bachelor of the Sciences. Thornton Leigh Page, Andrew M. Gleason, Murray Gerstenhaber, Howard Zimmerman, Guido Calabresi, Jonathan Wahl, Edward Hundert, and Nicholas Christakis have received this award.

Publications Physiological Economy in Nutrition (1904) The Nutrition of Man (1907)

References

Sources Chittenden at Yale Medical School G.R. C., 1944. Russell Henry Chittenden, February 18, 1856 - December 26, 1943. An appreciation. The Journal of Nutrition, 28 (1), 2-6. Article Lewis, H.B., 1944. Russell Henry Chittenden, (1856 - 1943). The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 153 (2), 339-342. Article Vickery, H.B., 1944. Russell Henry Chittenden, 1856 - 1943. National Academy of Sciences, Biographical Memoirs, 24, 59-104. Article

External links "Sketch of Russell H. Chittenden" . Popular Science Monthly. Vol. 53. May 1898. National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Russell Henry Chittenden

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Russell Henry Chittenden 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 Russell Henry Chittenden 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 Russell Henry Chittenden 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 Russell Henry Chittenden

In research: Russell Henry Chittenden 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 Russell Henry Chittenden 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: Russell Henry Chittenden is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1856 births, 1943 deaths, American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Russell Henry Chittenden 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 Russell Henry Chittenden in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Russell Henry Chittenden 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.
Explain Russell Henry Chittenden out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Russell Henry Chittenden in simple terms?

Russell Henry Chittenden (18 February 1856 – 26 December 1943) was an American physiological chemist. He conducted pioneering research in the biochemistry of digestion and nutrition.

Why does Russell Henry Chittenden 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 Russell Henry Chittenden?

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 Russell Henry Chittenden.