Elmer Imes

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Elmer Imes
Born
Elmer Samuel Imes

12 October 1883
Memphis, Tennessee, US
Died11 September 1941
Alma materFisk University
University of Michigan
New York University
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1919; div. 1933)​
Scientific career
InstitutionsGeorgia Normal and Agricultural Institute
Fisk University

Elmer Samuel Imes (October 12, 1883 – September 11, 1941) was an internationally renowned American physicist who made important contributions in quantum, demonstrating for the first time that

molecular structure through infrared spectroscopy.[1][2][3]

He was the second

patents for instruments to be used for measuring magnetic and electric properties. As an academic, he developed and chaired the department of physics at Fisk University
, serving from 1930 to 1941.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he was the child of college-educated parents. His father's family were people of color who had been free since before the American Revolution. His mother's family, former slaves, had moved to Oberlin, Ohio, after the American Civil War. Both his parents graduated from Oberlin College.

Early life and education

Elmer S. Imes was born in 1883 in Memphis, Tennessee to Elizabeth (née Wallace) and Benjamin A. Imes, both of whom were college educated. They had met as students at Oberlin College in Ohio. They married there in 1880.[2] His father earned a divinity degree at Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1880. Benjamin was descended from free people of color, who had been established in south-central Pennsylvania by the time of the Revolution.

Elmer's mother Elizabeth was born into slavery; her family had moved to Oberlin when she was a child, after the American Civil War and emancipation. Imes had two younger brothers: Albert Lovejoy Imes and William Lloyd Imes. The latter became a minister and was later pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church in New York City. He held degrees from Fisk, Union Theological Seminary, and Columbia University.[4]

Imes and his brothers attended grammar school in Oberlin. Their parents became missionaries with the

historically black college, with a bachelor's degree in science.[4]

Upon graduating from Fisk, Imes taught

historically black college in Albany, Georgia. He also taught at the Emerson Institute, founded in Mobile, Alabama by the American Missionary Association. Imes returned to Fisk in 1913 as an instructor of science and mathematics
. During his tenure there, Imes also earned a master's degree in science from Fisk University.

He went to the

Ph.D. in physics since Edward Bouchet did so from Yale University in 1876; Imes was the first African American in the 20th century to gain this degree.[1]

On May 3, 1919, after moving to New York City to work in industry, Imes married

W.E.B. Du Bois, members of the black elite.[1]

Due to strains in their marriage and his infidelity, they divorced in 1933. Imes had returned to Fisk University in 1929 for an academic career, developing and leading its physics department.

Internationally renowned physicist

Imes's research and doctoral thesis led to his publication of Measurements on the Near-Infrared Absorption of Some Diatomic Gases in November 1919 in the

Astrophysical Journal.[6] This work was followed by a paper co-authored and presented in November 1919 jointly with Harrison M. Randall, "The Fine Structure of the Near Infra-Red Absorption Bands of HCI, HBr, and HF" at the American Physical Society; it was published in the Physical Review in February 1920.[4][7] This work demonstrated for the first time that Quantum Theory could be applied to the rotational energy states of molecules, as well as to the vibration and electronic levels. Imes's work provided an early verification of Quantum Theory.[1][2]
[3] It became known in Europe as well as in the United States.[2]

Imes's work was one of the earliest applications of high resolution

molecular structure through infrared spectroscopy.[1][2][3]

Professional life

In the early 1920s, Imes found difficulty in securing employment in academia. Not many black colleges had physics programs and white colleges did not hire him. During this time, he moved to New York City, a social hub for black intellectuals.

patents for instruments that were used for measuring magnetic and electric properties.[1]

In 1930, Imes returned to

gifted Black Americans.[4]

In 1939, Imes returned to New York, where he conducted research as a scholar in magnetic materials at the physics department at New York University. He died in 1941.

Memberships and honors

American Society for Testing Materials; and The American Institute of Electrical Engineers
.

Death

Imes died of throat cancer on September 11, 1941. His colleague Swann wrote in an obituary for the journal Science that, "his research laboratory was a mecca for those who sought an atmosphere of calm and contentment. Peacefully smoking a pipe, Imes could always be relied upon to bring to any discussion an atmosphere of philosophic soundness and levelheaded practicalness. Gifted, moreover with a poetic disposition, he was widely read in literature, and a discriminating and ardent appreciator of music."[8]

Notable publications

Imes, Elmer S. "Measurements on the Near Infra-Red Absorption of Some Diatomic Gases." Astrophysical Journal, vol. 50, 1919, 251 - 276. doi:10.1086/142504.

Patents

Method Of Testing Magnetizable Objects. US 1686815 A, Oct. 9, 1928.[9]

Apparatus For Testing Magnetizable Objects. US 1800676 A, April 14, 1931.[10]

Electrical Resistance Composition. US 1818184 A, Aug. 11, 1931.[11]

Method Of And Apparatus For Testing Magnetizable Objects. US 1807411 A, May 26, 1931.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h This Month in Physics History - "November 1919: Elmer Imes Publishes Work on Infrared Spectroscopy", APS News (American Physics Society), November 2008 (Volume 17, Number 10). Retrieved on 2010-06-22
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ronald E. Mickens, "Bouchet and Imes: First Black Physicists", The African American Presence in Physics, Ronald E. Mickens, editor. Atlanta, Georgia: 1999, pp. 24-27
  3. ^ a b c d Dr. Scott Williams, "Physicists of the African Diaspora: Elmer Samuel Imes", hosted at University of Buffalo, Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Biography: Elmer Samuel Imes", Answers.com. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  5. ^
    doi:10.1063/pt.3.4042
    . Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  6. ^ Elmer S. Imes, "Measurements on the Near-Infrared Absorption of Some Diatomic Gases", Astrophysical Journal, November 1919, vol. 50, p.251ff
  7. ^ H.M. Randall and E.S. Imes, "The Fine Structure of the Near Infra-Red Absorption Bands of HCI, HBr, and HF", Phys. Rev. 15, pp. 152-155, Feb. 1920; in Science Abstracts, Institution of Electrical Engineers., 1920, pp.342-343
  8. PMID 17740047
    .
  9. ^ Imes, Elmer. Method of testing magnetizable objects. US 1686815 A, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 09 October 1928. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/.
  10. ^ Burrows, Charles W. and Elmer S. Imes. Apparatus for testing magnetizable objects. US 1800676 A, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 14 April 1931.https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/
  11. ^ Work, Lincoln T., Elmer S. Imes, Edward A. Everett. Electrical resistance composition. US 1818184 A, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 31 August 1931. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/
  12. ^ Imes, Elmer S. Method of and apparatus for testing magnetizable objects, United States Patent and Trademark Office, US 1807411 A, May 26, 1931. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/

Further reading

External links
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