Aaron J. Ihde

Aaron John Ihde (December 31, 1909, Neenah, Wisconsin – February 23, 2000, Sarasota, Florida) was an American food chemist and historian of chemistry. He was a professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison 1945–1980 and also a member of its history of science department from 1957. He was particularly known for his book The Development of Modern Chemistry and for his work on the purity and safety of foods including support for Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962).

Early life and education Aaron J. Ihde was born on December 31, 1909, in Neenah, Wisconsin to parents who were dairy farmers and second-generation German immigrants to the United States. He studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1931. Schuette also awakened Ihde's interest in the history of chemistry.

Career After teaching for the academic year 1941–1942 at Butler University in Indianapolis, Ihde became an instructor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison 1942–1945; he was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in 1945. He was eventually promoted to full professor and retired as professor emeritus in 1980.

His 1964 book The Development of Modern Chemistry was a standard work in the US for several decades. For many years, beginning in 1969, he was the editor of the newsletter Badger Chemist, as successor to Emory D. Fisher (1908–1969).

In addition to his chemistry professorship, in 1957 Ihde received a formal joint appointment as professor in UW Madison's department of the history of science. Ihde published on Paracelsus, Robert Boyle, Amedeo Avogadro, Michael Faraday, Robert Bunsen, and Adolf von Baeyer, on the history of chemistry in the United States, and on the history of pure food laws.

Awards and honors From 1962 to 1964 Ihde chaired the Division of History of the American Chemical Society (ACS). In 1968 Ihde received the Dexter Award of the Division of History of the ACS. In 1978 the University of Wisconsin honored him with the Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Teaching. In 1983 the ACS published a festschrift in his honor. In 2001 the first part of an issue of the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry was dedicated as a memorial to him.

Family In 1933 Aaron J. Ihde married Olive Tipler. (articles reprinted from the Journal of Chemical Education)