John William Baker and the origin of the Baker-Nathan effect

This paper will first deal with the life of John William Baker, then examine how Baker and his collaborator, Wilfred Samuel Nathan, discovered what was believed to be the first example of hyperconjugation. Next, it will briefly discuss the downfall of the Baker-Nathan effect as an explanation of what happens in unexpected rate accelerations in reactions in solns. It would seem that the disappearance of the Baker-Nathan effect from chem. literature is due to a combination of doubt over the utility of the concept in its original and rather restricted realm of application (reactivity in soln.) and a shift in research interests in phys. org. chem. more widely. The concept of hyperconjugation is still used in certain contexts. Although there is still controversy among theoreticians about hyperconjugation, Baker and Nathan as a result of their 1935 expts. opened a new way to explain many puzzling problems in org. chem.