V. R. Kokatnur

Vaman Ramachandra Kokatnur (16 December 1886 – 14 April 1950) was an American chemist of Indian origin. He was an industrial chemist and patented several chemical processes in the USA, Germany, England, France, and Canada, particularly the use of catalysts in organic synthesis.[1][2][3] Like many Indian immigrants into the US in the period he supported Indian Independence, while considering caste and class hierarchies as necessities in society.[4]

Early life and education

Kokatnur was born in Kokatnur village in Athani, Bombay Presidency on 16 December 1886, to Ramchandra A. and Krishnabai (Tagare) Kokatnur. He was educated in the Vernacular School, New English School and Fergusson College at Poona, and at Bombay University, from which he was graduated in 1911 with BSc in chemistry and geology.[5]

He moved to the US in August 1912, receiving an MS degree in chemistry and geology from the University of Minnesota in 1914. He was elected to the Sigma Psi, an honorary scientific society; and also became the first foreigner to be awarded with the Shevlin fellowship.[6] He received his PhD in chemistry in 1916.[7]

In 1921, he became a naturalized American citizen.[8][9]

Career

In 1928, he was sent to Russia as a consultant for the production of chlorine and caustic soda. During World War II he was drafted into the Navy as a special consultant with the rank of captain.

History Research

In 1948, he examined chemistry in ancient Indian literature and claimed that the ancients must have had considerable knowledge based on his interpretation of various arms mentioned in translations of the Ramayana that he examined.[10][11] He was noted as being interested in the hieroglyphics which he believed was related to Sanskrit. At a meeting of the American Chemical Society he claimed that Indians had discovered hydrogen and oxygen and that chemistry was of "Aryan origin". He said he had identified this from a four-page manuscript supposedly dating to 1550 and claimed to be the Agastya Samhita or writings of the sage Agastya who supposedly lived in 2000 BC. According to Kokatnur, the work actually described electrolysis and that the gods Mitra and Varuna mentioned were to be interpreted as Mitra meaning friend, and therefore as the cathode, and Varuna meaning liquid or enemy of zinc and therefore referring to the anode. He claimed that the term "prana" meant vital to life and therefore indicated oxygen while "udana" meant facing upward and therefore identified it as being hydrogen. About the source and its provenance he claimed that it could not have been a fake because the paper appeared to be older than 50 years and that the discoveries to prevent polarization had only just been made. His work was supposedly to be published in the science history journal Isis but possibly due to the doubtful provenance of sources and the rather vague interpretations, was never published.[12][13]

Personal life

He married Helen Rose Graber, an alumna of University of Minnesota, in February 1921.[14] He attended the University Unitarian Church philosophical society, while his wife was a member of the Methodist Church. They had two children, Urmila Vaman Kokatnur[15][16] and Arvind Vaman Kokatnur.[17]

References
  1. "DR. V.R. KOKATNUR, CHEMIST, 63, DEAD; Consultant to Many Leading Corporations Won Honors for Work as Inventor Consultant to Russia Had Thirty Patents (Published 1950)". The New York Times. 1950-04-15. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  2. Kokatnur, V. R. (1919). "The Influence of Catalysts on the Chlorination of Hydrocarbons". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 41 (1): 120–124. doi:10.1021/ja01458a013. ISSN 0002-7863.
  3. Radford, A. J. (1954). "Investigation of the Kokatnur-Jelling method for the determination of benzoyl peroxide". The Analyst. 79 (941): 501. doi:10.1039/an9547900501. ISSN 0003-2654.
  4. Kokatnur, V. R. (1928). "The teaching of chemistry in a democracy". Journal of Chemical Education. 5 (3): 301. doi:10.1021/ed005p301. ISSN 0021-9584.
  5. Downs, Winfield Scott (1934). Encyclopedia of American Biography: New Series. American Historical Society. p. 502.
  6. "Student loans model of Taj Mahal". The Minnesota Alumni Weekly. University of Minnesota Alumni Association. 14 (27): 8. April 5, 1915.
  7. "Personalia". The Minnesota Alumni Weekly. University of Minnesota Alumni Association. 22 (30): 519. May 22, 1923.
  8. "News and Notes". Science. 111 (2888): 503–506. 1950. doi:10.1126/science.111.2888.503. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 1676406.
  9. United States Congress Senate Committee on Immigration (1926). Ratification and Confirmation of Naturalization of Certain Persons of the Hindu Race: Hearings, Sixty-ninth Congress, Second Session, on S.J. Res. 128. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 30–32.
  10. Kokatnur, V. R. (1948). "Chemical warfare in Ancient India". Journal of Chemical Education. 25 (5): 268–272. doi:10.1021/ed025p268.
  11. "Vaman Ramachandra Kokatnur". Science and Culture. 16 (1): 20. 1950.
  12. "First Non-Stop Flight Made 2000 Years B.C." The Minnesota Alumni Weekly. University of Minnesota Alumni Association. 27 (3): 59-60. September 30, 1927.
  13. Colavito, Jason (2015). "Did an Ancient Indian Sage Record a Recipe for Making a Battery? A Forgotten Chapter in Fringe History".
  14. "Personalia". The Minnesota Alumni Weekly. University of Minnesota Alumni Association. 21 (9): 142. December 1, 1921.
  15. "URMILA KOKATlqUR TO BE FALL .BRIDE; Daughter of Chemist FiAncee of Flying: Officer Pitamber ] Devgon, Indian Air Force (Published 1955)". 1955-08-26. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  16. "URMILA KOKATNUR WED; She Is Bride in India of Flying Officer Pitamber Devgon (Published 1955)". 1955-10-20. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  17. The Nassau Herald. 1947. p. 98.
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