Vaman R. Kokatnur

Vaman Ramachandra Kokatnur (1887 – 18 April 1950) was an American chemist of Indian origin. He was an industrial chemist with Niagara Alkali Company and patented several chemical processes, particularly the use of catalysts in organic synthesis.[1][2]

Biography

Kokatnur was born in Kokatnur, Athani, and after a BSc from Bombay University (1912) he moved to the US, graduating MS from the University of Minnesota in 1914. He received a Shevlin fellowship during this period.[3] He became an American citizen in 1921.[4] In 1928, he was sent to Russia as a consultant for the production of chlorine and caustic soda. During World War II he was drafted into the Navy as a special consultant with the rank of captain. Like many Indian immigrants into the US in the period he supported Indian Independence while considering caste and class hierarchies as necessities in society.[5]

In 1948, he examined chemistry in ancient Indian literature and claimed that the ancients must have had considerable knowledge based on his interpretation of various arms mentioned in translations of the Ramayana that he examined.[6][7] He was noted as being interested in the hieroglyphics which he believed was related to Sanskrit. At a meeting of the American Chemical Society he claimed that Indians had discovered hydrogen and oxygen and that chemistry was of "Aryan origin". He said he had identified this from a four page manuscript from 1550 claimed to be the Agastya Samhita or writings of Sage Agastya who supposedly lived in 2000 BC. According to Kokatnur, the work actually described electrolysis and that the gods Mitra and Varuna mentioned were to be interpreted as Mitra meaning friend, and therefore as the cathode, and Varuna meaning liquid or enemy of zinc and therefore referring to the anode. He claimed that the term "prana" meant vital to life and therefore indicated oxygen while "udana" meant facing upward and therefore identified it as being hydrogen. About the source and its provenance he claimed that it could not have been a fake because the paper appeared to be older than 50 years and that the discoveries to prevent polarization had only just been made. His work was supposedly to be published in the science history journal Isis but possibly due to the doubtful provenance of sources and the rather vague interpretations, was never published.[8][9]

References
  1. Kokatnur, V. R. (1919). "The Influence of Catalysts on the Chlorination of Hydrocarbons". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 41 (1): 120–124. doi:10.1021/ja01458a013. ISSN 0002-7863.
  2. Radford, A. J. (1954). "Investigation of the Kokatnur-Jelling method for the determination of benzoyl peroxide". The Analyst. 79 (941): 501. doi:10.1039/an9547900501. ISSN 0003-2654.
  3. "Student loans model of Taj Mahal" (PDF). The Minnesota Alumni Weekly. 14 (27): 8. 1915.
  4. "News and Notes". Science. 111 (2888): 503–506. 1950. doi:10.1126/science.111.2888.503. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 1676406.
  5. Kokatnur, V. R. (1928). "The teaching of chemistry in a democracy". Journal of Chemical Education. 5 (3): 301. doi:10.1021/ed005p301. ISSN 0021-9584.
  6. Kokatnur, V. R. (1948). "Chemical warfare in Ancient India". Journal of Chemical Education. 25 (5): 268–272. doi:10.1021/ed025p268.
  7. "Vaman Ramachandra Kokatnur". Science and Culture. 16 (1): 20.
  8. "First non-stop flight made 2000 years BC. Revelations of ancient manuscripts, discovered by alumnus, prove that ancient Hindus knew how to fly, knew that hydrogen was lighter than air and knew how to make dry batteries". The Minnesota Alumni Weekly. 27 (3): 59–60, 66. October 15, 1927.
  9. Colavito, Jason (2015). "Did an Ancient Indian Sage Record a Recipe for Making a Battery? A Forgotten Chapter in Fringe History".
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