Henry Gilman - Early Life and Education (1893-1918)

Early Life and Education (1893-1918)

Henry Gilman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, as the son of a tailor. He was the third of eight children. Gilman graduated from a Boston high school and later attended Harvard University where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1915. During his final year as an undergraduate at Harvard, Gilman researched with Roger Adams. During this time, the two worked on the synthesis of substituted phenyl esters of oxalic acids. Gilman claimed that this was an important step toward his interest in research. After undergraduate work Gilman was invited to stay for postgraduate work with the head of the Harvard department of chemistry, E.P. Kohler. Based on his work, he received a Master of Arts degree in 1917 and a Ph.D. in 1918.

While attending graduate school, Gilman had an opportunity to travel in Europe. He spent time at both the Polytechnicum in Zurich and at Oxford in England. During his time in Europe, Gilman met Madame Curie at the Sorbonne, the historic University of Paris. While staying in Paris, Gilman met Victor Grignard and was intrigued by the advances in organic chemistry in France made possible by Grignard reagents. Once he was able to research independently, Gilman was determined to explore the chemistry of these organometallic reagents.