Irma Goldberg

Irma Goldberg (born 1871) was one of the first female organic chemists to have and sustain a successful career, her work even being quoted in her own name in standard textbooks.

Born in Moscow, she later traveled to Geneva to study chemistry. Her early research included the development of a process to remove sulfur and phosphorus from acetylene. She also researched and wrote a paper on using copper as a catalyst as a preparation of a phenyl derivative of thiosalicylic acid, a process known as the Ullmann reaction. This modification to previous forms of the method was a great improvement, and was extremely helpful for laboratory-scale preparations. She coordinated on other forms of chemistry research with her husband, Fritz Ullmann, in what they called the Ullmann-Goldberg collaborative.

Goldberg's research, along with that of the Ullmann-Goldberg collaborative, was also a part of Germany's synthetic dye industry. Their research helped with the creation of the synthetic alizarin industry, or the process of replacing natural dye obtained from madder. Goldberg also collaborated with Hermann Friedman to review German patents under BASF (Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik) and Bayer & Co. Farbenfabriken, providing notes on preparation for 114 dyes.

Her exact death date is not known, but her name does appear at the top of a list of people signing a memorial notice in a Geneva newspaper for her deceased husband, Fritz Ullmann.

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