Robert John Kane to Faraday   28 October 1834

Royal Dublin Society House | Kildare St | October 28th 1834.

Sir,

When I had the honor of seeing you in Dublin¹, you kindly gave me per‑mission to refer to you, of which I now avail myself in consequence of the following circumstance.

In the Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science January 1833, I published a little paper showing that Ether might be considered as the oxide of a radicle composed of (4C + 5H), Alcohol as its Hydrates, the Oxacid Ethers as Oxy-Salts, as Benzoic Ether etc and the Hydracid Ethers as Binary compounds of the Radicle viz Hydriodic Ether the iodide, etc². In the Annales de Chimie September 1833 there appeared a paper by Berzelius³ translated from Poggendor[f]f's Annalen No 8 for 1833⁴ (consequently later than January) wherein he proposes exactly the same view except that he made Alcohol an oxide of a distinct radicle in place of an hydrate of Ether as I had proposed. In february 1834 a paper appeared in the Annales de Chimie from Liebig⁵ in which he adopted the idea of Ether being an oxide but differed from Berzelius as to the nature of Alcohol. He showed that Alcohol should be considered as an hydrate of Ether, thus bringing Berzelius hypothesis to a perfect coincidence with mine⁶.

A few nights since, I read at the Royal Irish Academy, a notice of the above mentioned facts, I showed the three memoirs, and proved from a comparison of dates, the indubitable priority of mine. Although Berzelius brings forward the hypothesis as new and Liebig attributes to him originality in the idea of it, yet a member of the Academy has stated that the matter has been long familiar to Chemists "that the idea of Ether being an oxide of a radicle (4C + 5H) was proposed long since & by many persons."

Now it is curious, that if such were the case Berzelius and Liebig, should not have made any remark upon it, and that it should not have been remarked by the Editors of the Annales de Chimie, who must be supposed to be moderately well versed in Chemical Literature, and that in a careful examination of the French English and Some German Periodicals for the last few years, I should not have found any trace of the idea prior to the appearance of my own paper. The statement although totally unsupported by reference to any work in which the idea is contained, has had such influence as to demand a refutation.

Now as Berzelius and Liebig evidently consider the hypothesis as proposed by them to be original, and as I cannot find any trace of it in books, I am at a loss to know to what the Gentleman alluded. I shall therefore feel much obliged by your letting me know as soon as you have leisure whether you have heard of any person, prior to 1833, having proposed to consider Sulphuric Ether as an oxide of a radicle (4C + 5H), Alcohol, as its hydrate, Muriatic Ether as the Chloride of the same radicle, Oxalic ether as the oxalate etc. I am now trying to devise experiments by which the truth of the theory may be tested, but in the mean time, I am anxious to determine finally the priority of announcement.

I have latterly tried in every way I could think of to unite Arsenieuretted Hydrogen with Hydriodic Acid, to generate the body corresponding to the Hydriodate of Phosphoretted Hydrogen. I have not yet given up hopes of succeeding, although the frequent operations on that gas made me sick and I had to leave off for a time. At present I am employed galvanising the Hydriodate of Phosphoretted Hydrogen, a substance on which in consequence of its rapid decomposition by water even in the state of vapour in the air, it is very difficult to obtain accurate results.

You will have the goodness to let me know about the Ethers soon, and in the mean time I beg leave to subscribe myself

Your Obedient and | Humble Servant | Robert J. Kane

M. Faraday Esq LLD | Royal Institution

Address: M. Faraday Esq LLD | Royal Institution | Albemarle St London