Acetylene of 180°. Acetylene was discovered in 1836 by Edmund Davy, who identified it as a "new carburet of hydrogen". It was rediscovered in 1860 by French chemist Marcellin Berthelot, who coined the name "acétylène". Berthelot's empirical formula for acetylene (CH), as well as the alternative name "quadricarbure d'hydrogène" ("hydrogen quadricarbide"), were incorrect because chemists at that time used the wrong atomic mass for carbon (6 instead of 12). Berthelot was able to prepare this gas by passing vapours of organic compounds (methanol, ethanol, etc.) through a red-hot tube and collecting the effluent. He also found that acetylene was formed by
USS Relief (1836) USS Relief (1836) The first USS "Relief" was a supply ship in the United States Navy. "Relief" was laid down in 1835 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched on 14 September 1836. Designed by Samuel Humphreys, she was built along merchant vessel lines and included trysail mast and gaffsail on all three masts to enable her to work to windward in strong winds. Her hull was pierced for 16 small guns, but she usually carried only four to six 18-pounder and two 12-pounders. In early December 1836, "Relief", commanded by Lieutenant Thomas A. Dornin, left Philadelphia for Norfolk, Virginia