chemistry

William H. Nichols

William H. Nichols 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 William H. Nichols rather than just read about it. In short: William Henry Nichols (January 9, 1852 – February 21, 1930) was an American chemist and businessman. He was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

William Henry Nichols (January 9, 1852 – February 21, 1930) was an American chemist and businessman. He was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back to a small sulfuric acid company he started in 1870. Nichols was one of the original founders of the American Chemical Society, serving as president in 1918 and 1919. The New York branch of the society gives a prestigious award every year that is named after him, the William H. Nichols Medal Award. He attended New York University.

Family William Henry Nichols was born in Brooklyn on January 9, 1852. He was the son of George Henry and Sarah Elizabeth (Harris) Nichols. William H. Nichols attended the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute from 1865 to 1868. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the New York University in 1870 and 1873 respectively. Nichols also received honorary degrees from Columbia University (Sc.D., 1904), Lafayette College (LL.D., 1904), the University of Pittsburgh (Sc.D., 1920), the New York University (LL.D., 1920), and Tufts University (Sc.D., 1921). He married Hannah W. Bensel of Brooklyn on February 14, 1873. The couple had three children: William Henry Jr., born in 1874, Charles Walter, born in 1875, and Madeleine, born in 1884.

Chemical business Nichols, along with his son C. Walter Nichols, helped organize the merger of 12 companies in 1899 to create the General Chemical Company. Under his leadership, the company grew its asset base and increased its earnings threefold, making Nichols a force in America’s fledgling chemical industry. During World War I, he served as chairman of the Chemicals Committee of the Council of National Defense. His vision of a bigger, better chemical company took off when he teamed up with investor Eugene Meyer in 1920. Nichols and Meyer combined five smaller chemical companies to create the Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation, which later became Allied Chemical Corp., and eventually became part of AlliedSignal, the forerunner of Honeywell’s specialty materials business. Both men have buildings named after them at Honeywell’s headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey. His original plant along the Newtown Creek in Queens is infamous for its legacy of pollution. Nichols is rumored to have once emptied vats of excess sulfuric acid into the creek rather than sell it cheaply to a businessman he had no respect for. He became a commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1912 and a knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus in 1920.

Later life Nichols lived in Manhattan. He died on February 21, 1930, in Honolulu. Nichols was interred at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn on March 9, 1930.

Nichols' legacy The success of Nichols' companies can be traced to several notable principles that guided his career. First was his deep belief in research and development. Second was his support for science education and the students of chemistry. Third was his concern for the welfare of his employees. Most important was his often quoted belief that "the Golden Rule is as applicable in business as it is in church." It is this legacy of Nichols that is honored with an award named after him. The William H. Nichols Medal Award is given each year by the New York Section of the American Chemical Society. Nichols himself first established an award in 1902, making it the first gold medal for original chemical research. In June of that year, he gave 10 shares of preferred stock in General Chemical to the American Chemical Society to endow the first award. In accepting the stock, the board of directors requested permission of Nichols to name the award "The Nichols Medal of the New York Section." Since the first award on January 9, 1903, the American Chemical Society's New York Section has named 97 Nichols Medalists. Sixteen have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry. Initially, the medal award consisted of just the 18 carat gold Nichols Medal, whose design depicts the allegorical figure of Dr. Faust in his laboratory as described by Goethe. A bronze replica of the medal, to be used for display purposes, was later added to the award. There is also a cash award.

References

Harvard Business School, 20th Century Great American Business Leaders, entry on William H. Nichols John William Leonard (1922). Who's who in Finance and Banking. Who's Who in Finance Inc. p. 499. applegarth nichols., entry on William H. Nichols New York Section of the American Chemical Society, William H. Nichols and the Evolution of the Nichols Medal Award

External links Honeywell Specialty Materials American Chemical Society Archived 2007-03-07 at the Wayback Machine List of Nichols Medalists Photo of Linus Pauling's Nichols Medal

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William H. Nichols

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William H. Nichols 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 William H. Nichols 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 William H. Nichols 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 William H. Nichols

In research: William H. Nichols 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 William H. Nichols 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: William H. Nichols is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1852 births, 1930 deaths, American businesspeople in the chemical industry, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William H. Nichols 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “William H. Nichols” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study William H. Nichols in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is William H. Nichols in simple terms?

William Henry Nichols (January 9, 1852 – February 21, 1930) was an American chemist and businessman. He was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S.

Why does William H. Nichols 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 William H. Nichols?

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 William H. Nichols.