James Bryant Conant

James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant in 1948
1st United States Ambassador to West Germany
In office May 14, 1955 – February 19, 1957
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Succeeded by	David K. E. Bruce
23rd President of Harvard University
In office 1933–1953
Preceded by	Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Succeeded by	Nathan Marsh Pusey
Personal details
Born	(1893-03-26)March 26, 1893 Dorchester, Massachusetts
Died	February 11, 1978(1978-02-11) (aged 84) Hanover, New Hampshire
Relations	Jennet Conant (granddaughter) James F. Conant (grandson)
Awards	Nichols Medal (1932); Chandler Medal (1932); American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal (1934);Commandeur, Legion d'Honneur (1936); Benjamin Franklin Medal (1943); Priestley Medal (1944); Medal for Merit (1946); Kentucky colonel (1946); American Education Award (1947); Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1948); Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1957); Medal of Freedom (1963); Sylvanus Thayer Award (1965); Arches of Science Award (1967); Atomic Pioneers Award (1969); Clark Kerr Medal (1977): Fellow of the Royal SocietyFor a full list of awards, see Bartlett 1983, pp. 110–111
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	Chemical Warfare Service
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	World War I

Jennet Conant (granddaughter)

James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 – February 11, 1978) was an American chemist, a transformative President of Harvard University, and the first U.S. Ambassador to West Germany. Conant obtained a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard in 1916. During World War I he served in the U.S. Army, working on the development of poison gases. He became an assistant professor of chemistry at Harvard in 1919, and the Sheldon Emery Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1929. He researched the physical structures of natural products, particularly chlorophyll, and he was one of the first to explore the sometimes complex relationship between chemical equilibrium and the reaction rate of chemical processes. He studied the biochemistry of oxyhemoglobin providing insight into the disease methemoglobinemia, helped to explain the structure of chlorophyll, and contributed important insights that underlie modern theories of acid-base chemistry.

In 1933, Conant became the President of Harvard University with a reformist agenda that involved dispensing with a number of customs, including class rankings and the requirement for Latin classes. He abolished athletic scholarships, and instituted an "up or out" policy, under which scholars who were not promoted were terminated. His egalitarian vision of education required a diversified student body, and he promoted the adoption of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and co-educational classes. During his presidency, women were admitted to Harvard Medical School and Harvard Law School for the first time.