Herzberg, Gerhard (1904-1999), a German-born Canadian physicist, won the 1971 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his studies of the structure of molecules. Herzberg studied spectra, patterns of electromagnetic radiation such as visible light, ultraviolet rays, and microwaves emitted or absorbed by molecules. He analyzed spectra to discover the structure of various molecules and other compounds, especially compounds called free radicals. One of his major contributions was the discovery of the structure of important free radicals such as methyl and methylene. Both of those radicals have carbon atoms, and both are important in organic chemistry, the study of carbon-containing compounds. Herzberg’s work also helped astronomers learn about the composition of stars and other celestial objects by analyzing their spectra.
Herzberg was born on Dec. 25, 1904, in Hamburg, Germany, and graduated from the Darmstadt Institute of Technology in 1928. He moved to Canada in 1935 and became a Canadian citizen in 1945. From 1949 to 1969, Herzberg directed the Division of Pure Physics at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa. He died in Ottawa on March 3, 1999.
