During the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, chemical societies were established all over Europe. This book focuses on this process and further development of the European chemical societies before World War I, and in exceptional cases up to 1930. Presenting unique historical material this title offers an insight into the social, intellectual and political circumstances in which the chemical societies were constituted and function. Details of relationships and connections to universities and chemical industries and international contacts are uncovered. The analysis of data explores how networks in chemistry and professional autonomy were constituted, and investigates the process of demarcation that inevitably takes place when a social institution of a scientific discipline is formed. The reader will find answers to the important question of what chemistry was and was not in the latter half of nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. This volume represents for the first time an international comparative analysis on the beginnings of chemical societies in Europe. This fascinating study, based on detailed historical research done by a group of renowned historians of chemistry from several countries, will serve the European chemical societies and provide a context for their complex histories and relationships. Ideal for those interested in the history of national societies and chemical history.