A prolific writer

Draper’s first book was a chemistry text published in 1846. When his Human Physiology, Statical and Dynamical appeared in 1856, it received immediate recognition as an outstanding textbook. In this text, Draper adhered to a strictly chemical basis rather than using the dominant vital force theory, whose proponents claimed that living systems contained a nonchemical force that gave them life. The book was translated into several foreign languages and established Draper’s authority as a chemist in an area of medicine that had previously been taught by physicians with little knowledge of chemistry

Convinced that the “movement of humanity is like the movement of material bodies,” Draper became a philosopher and historian in the latter part of his career, developing his views in four major literary works. The publication of A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe in 1863 was acclaimed by European critics as one of the very highest pinnacles of intellectual achievement. This was followed two years later by Thoughts on the Future Civil Policy of America, a book that suggested the ways that natural laws, such as climate, might affect the fate of American after the Civil War. This work received considerable attention from officials in Washington, and as a result, when Draper began to write his History of the American Civil War, he received generous assistance from many of the participants, including Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who supplied many official documents, and Union general William T. Sherman, who provided extensive correspondence and assisted in the final evaluation of the manuscript for historical accuracy. The three volumes published between 1867 and 1870 constituted one of the first histories to appear about that great conflict and for some time were considered to be the most authoritative.

Draper’s last major and most controversial work, History of the Conflict of Religion and Science, went through 20 editions in the first ten years after it was published in 1874 and was translated into nine languages. Draper’s negative attitude towards the Roman Catholic Church led the Vatican to place this book on the Index Librorium Prohibitorium (Index of Forbidden Books) in September of 1876. It continues to be an important work and was last reprinted in 1998.

William Henry Nichols 1852-1930
Even though he was only 24 years old when he attended the organizational meeting of the American Chemical Society on April 6, 1876, William Henry Nichols was already a successful chemical entrepreneur. Nichols had studied with John Draper at New York University, where Draper was involved in classroom instruction continuously for 42 years. Draper’s lectures, according to one biographer, were considered “clear in statement, fresh and striking in their views, and lively, poetic and witty, as well as instructive, well fitted to awaken the student’s enthusiasm.” Nichols, who would become chairman of the board of the Allied Chemical & Dye Company in 1920, was so impressed with Draper that he gave several million dollars to the university for the 1922 construction of a chemistry building on the University Heights campus in the Bronx.

Nichols also played a pivotal role in the April 6 organizational meeting. When the motion to form the American Chemical Society was made, three speakers immediately argued against the motion, claiming other organizations would serve the purpose better, at least for the time being. It was Nichols who finally spoke forcefully and positively, thus assuring the passage of the vote and the formation of the society. “We did not come here expecting to find a society ready formed, with a library and a fine building,” Nichols said. “We have much intelligence assembled here, and that is much better than a library. Let us begin this society small, let it do its work well, and it will undoubtedly grow.”

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