ABSTRACT
The chemistry's position with respect to other fields may be indicated further by comparing the relative numbers of doctoral degrees granted in each area. As a reference point, more than 100,000 such degrees had been conferred in all fields in the United States by 1950. In 1951-53 the natural sciences themselves claimed 37 per cent of the total number of doctorates, and of these the chemists held a third. Finally, one should note that in chemistry a comparatively high proportion of men are research supervisors and research administrators. The expansion of chemistry in numbers and influence during the past few decades is inextricably linked with its service to modern industry. “In 1945,” a historian of the American industrial scene noted, “a survey showed that of the 238 principal industrial chemicals, nearly one-half of them were made by four or fewer companies; of the remainder, the four leading companies accounted for seventy percent of the production of 100 items.
