Title: Reynold C. Fuson Papers, 1924-67

Series Number: 15/5/24

Acquired: 4/2/1965; 8/21/1972

Volume: 0.6 cubic feet

Arrangement

Creator(s)

Biographical Note

Reynold Clayton Fuson (1895-1979) was associate (1927-28), assistant professor (1928-30), associate professor (1931-32), professor (1932-63), and professor emeritus (1963-79) of chemistry at the University of Illinois (UI). He was widely respected as an educator and chemist, noted for originating the principle of vinyology.

Fuson was born in Wakefield, Illinois, on June 1, 1895, to parents Nancy Jane and John A. Fuson. He was certified as a teacher at the Central Normal College in Danville, Indiana, in 1914. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Montana State University (1920), a master's from the University of California, Berkeley (1921), and a PhD from the University of Minnesota (1924) in organic chemistry. Fuson held a postdoctoral appointment at Harvard University with E. P. Kohler (1924-25) and worked as an instructor (1926) before joining the Department of Chemistry at UI in 1927. He remained at UI for more than three decades before retiring in 1963. Over the course of his career, he published 285 articles and wrote five textbooks, including The Systematic Identification of Organic Compounds (coauthored with R. L. Shriner and D. Y. Curtin). He was also a member of the editorial boards of Organic Syntheses and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Fuson's research interests and accomplishments included, "the enunciation of the principle of vinylogy, elucidation of the conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to unsaturated carbonyls compounds, and the discovery of stable enols and enediols of sterically hindered molecules" ("About Reynold C. Fuson"). He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and recipient of the American Chemical Society (ACS) William H. Nichols Medal (1953).

Following his retirement from UI, he taught at the University of Nevada (1963-64). He died in Breslau, Germany, on August 4, 1979.

Sources:

"About Reynold C. Fuson (1895-1979)," Department of Chemistry (UIUC), accessed May 6, 2020, https://chemistry.illinois.edu/newsroom/events/lectures/r-c-fuson-visiting-professors-organic-chemistry/about-reynold-c-fuson-1895.

"Fuson, Reynold C. (1895â??1979)," Department of Chemistry (UIUC), accessed May 6, 2020, https://chemistry.illinois.edu/spotlight/faculty/fuson-reynold-c-1895-1979.

Wikipedia, s.v. "Reynold C. Fuson," accessed May 6, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynold_C._Fuson.

Subjects (links to similar materials)

Locations for this record series:

146 Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive (Prior Request Preferred)

Service Location	Boxes
146 Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive (Prior Request Preferred)	1-

Description:

Papers of Reynold Clayton Fuson, professor of Chemistry (1928-63), including correspondence and related material concerning appointments, Alpha Chi Sigma, American Chemical Society, book publication, Center for Advanced Study, Class of 1930, committees, contacts with Italian and German chemists, grants, university lectures, consulting work, organic chemistry research, university and industrial research in chemistry, former students' graduate work and employment, Fuson Fund, honors and awards, John R. Kuebler Award, Honorary degree from Montana State, patent, speaking engagements, sabbatical leaves (1935-36 and 1952-53 in Italy) and travel. Correspondents include Roger Adams, A. P. Tanberg, Wallace H. Carothers and Elmer P. Kohler.

The series includes "It Happened at Illinois" (January 10, 1966); "Autobiographical Notes" (September 6, 1966), which contain recollections of Prof. Fuson's family, school days, graduate study, the Illinois Chemistry Department, faculty, students, textbooks and academic honors, and "Chemistry at Illinois: A Centennial Review" (10/18/67), a bound volume of his scientific papers (1924-40) and "The Carbon Hydrogen Linkage" (1934-35) a collection of student research papers conducted under Fuson.