author
Edward Hart
1854–1931
A lifelong chemist and teacher, he also wrote with a quietly playful imagination, turning scientific ideas and rural life into stories and reflections. His work offers a glimpse of an inventive mind that moved easily between the laboratory, the classroom, and the page.
1 Audiobook
The silica gel pseudomorph, and other stories
by Edward Hart
About the author
Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 1854, Edward Hart spent most of his professional life at Lafayette College in Easton. He joined the college in 1874 as an assistant in chemistry, later studied at Johns Hopkins, and went on to become a leading figure in chemistry and chemical engineering there.
Hart was known not only as a professor and editor but also as an inventor. He edited The Journal of Analytical and Applied Chemistry for many years, and his work in chemistry earned wide recognition, including notice for practical inventions such as improved acid-storage bottles.
Alongside his scientific career, he wrote books that showed a lighter, more personal side of his thinking. Our Farm in Cedar Valley reflects his interest in country life, while The Silica Gel Pseudomorph and Other Stories mixes science, humor, and imagination in ways that still feel distinctive today. He died in Easton, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 1931.