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Hamilton Perkins Cady (1874-1943)
Born in the little Kansas town of Skiddy, near Council Grove, Cady later moved with his family to
Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio, and Wisconsin before returning to Kansas. Cady's interest in chemistry began
one day in 1888 when a neighbor dissolved a silver spoon in nitric acid and, after adding salt to the
solution, obtained a precipitate of silver chloride. That, said the neighbor, was chemistry. From that
moment, young Cady knew that he wanted to be a chemist. Early in 1894, Cady entered The University of
Kansas. He completed his undergraduate work in 1897 and for the next two years studied at Cornell. In
1899, he returned to Kansas as assistant professor of chemistry, receiving his Ph.D. in 1903. Although Cady played a large role in isolating helium, he was perhaps better known to Kansans for his
lectures on liquid air. Demonstrations of the liquid air plant, which had made the isolation of helium
possible, became so popular on campus that scientists throughout the state clamored for a traveling
version of the lecture. Cady rarely turned down a request for these "liquid air trips"-during 1916-17
alone, he presented the lecture 37 times. Cady became chair of the department on E.H.S. Bailey's retirement in 1920 and retired from that position
in 1940. His son George considered that Cady's "most important contribution to society was that of a
teacher. Through his excellent lectures, fine demonstrations, keen wit, and sound philosophy, hammered
home with a demand for high performance, he had a strong powerful influence on thousands of students."
The gas that wouldn't burn |
"Helium is no longer a rare element" |
Helium production in the United States
Hamilton Perkins Cady |
David Ford McFarland |
Bailey Hall |
Landmark designation and acknowledgments
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