Dr. Arthur Lachman: Dec. 4, 1873-Nov. 30, 1957

(Click graphic for better view.)

1920

Big Reward for Missing Man

Harold Lachman of Chicago, whose present address is 358 Holbrook building, San Francisco, Cal., at latest reports from him had not succeeded in finding his missing brother, Prof. Arthur Lachman, who disappeared from San Francisco several weeks ago, as stated in the Blade's columns last week. As the Blade then explained, a large cash reward is offered to any one who can furnish information that will lead to the present whereabouts of the missing man, who is a distinguished chemist. He is believed to have wandered away while under an attack of forgetfulness due to overwork. He is 50 years old, of medium height and weighs about 165 pounds. He wears a short sandy mustache, is a learned man and kindly in his manners. Any Blade reader meeting such a man will do well to ask him if he is not Prof. Arthur Lachman of San Francisco. Whoever discovers him will receive a generous reward.

—From the "Lost Trails" column of The Saturday Blade, Chicago, "A Department Devoted to Aiding Readers of the Blade in Finding Lost Relatives," Jan. 3, 1920, p. 12.



Dr. Lachman Tells Story of Amnesia

1920

San Franciscan, Missing Six Months and Mourned As Dead, Returns Home After "Finding" Himself at Chico

Scientist, for Whom Country Was Searched, Cannot Give An Account of Wanderings Nor Explain Scar on Face

As one who had returned from the grave, Dr. Arthur Lachman, distinguished scientist of San Francisco, who has been missing for six months and has been mourned as dead, is today seeking to adjust himself to his old surroundings. Lachman, according to his wife, and to a brother-in-law, Morris Ballen of Berkeley, has been a sufferer of amnesia and it was not until yesterday that he regained his mental faculties.

The search for Lachman has extended throughout the country for the last half year and has been furthered by the posting of a reward of $1000 for information concerning the missing man. "When one clew after another failed Mrs. Lachman became convinced that her husband had met with death and withdrew the reward two weeks ago.

BROTHER RECEIVES FIRST INFORMATION

Yesterday Charles Lachman, a brother, received the following telegram from Chico:

"Leaving Chico. Due San Francisco 6:30 p. m. Cannot understand matters."

When the message was received at the Lachman home, 143 Fourteenth avenue, San Francisco, Mrs. Lachman notified her brother in Berkeley and arrangements were made to meet Lachman.

Worn and shabby, but with his mental faculties apparently restored, Lachman arrived at his home and was the center of a dramatic reunion with his wife and fourteen-year-old daughter. He said that he awakened yesterday morning to find himself in strange surroundings.

"When I asked a pedestrian where I was," Lachman told his wife, "he said the place was Chico. Then to my astonishment I learned that the date was May 19. Unable to account for my being in Chico I decided to telegraph my brother. I am glad to be home. It seems like the end of a bad dream."

It is believed a fall or shock in Chico served to restore the mental balance of the scientist, although at Chico it is said that there is no knowledge there of any accident to the man. A new scar on Lachman's forehead cannot be explained by him.

LACHMAN REMAINS AT HOTEL FOUR DAYS

According to Night Clerk Don McLain of the Hotel Oaks at Chico, Lachman registered at the hotel there on May 15 as "A. Lachman, San Francisco," and ordered his meals served in his rooms. After a day passed in bed he appeared occasionally, and there was nothing abnormal in his actions, the clerk said. At one time he said he had just completed a vaudeville tour. Tuesday night he attended a motion picture show and announced that he would check out for San Francisco in the morning.

"Where Lachman has been since December 11, 1919, until the time he registered at Chico a few days ago is a mystery to him and to his family. In response to the nationwide appeal he had been reported in various places about the country. He has carried insurance policies amounting to $115,000.

—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA, May 20, 1920, p. 1.


Death

1957

NEW YORK (UP) — Dr. Arthur Lachman, 83, former associate professor of chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, died Saturday in a hospital here. The San Francisco native also had taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Oregon. He discovered the Lachman process for refining crude petroleum in 1929.

—Hammond Times, Hammond, Louisiana, Dec. 2, 1957, p. 10.

Note: "Saturday" was Nov. 30. Pronounced Lok'man (with a dot over the "a," which I think would be Lok'mun), according to Who's Who in America 1950-51, born Dec. 4, 1873 in San Francisco. Obit for him was published in the NY Times, Dec. 1, 1957, p. 88, with an erratum of some sort on Dec. 2, 1957, p. 27. The obit info is from Biography Index, Sept. 1955-Aug. 1958.

The photo credits are: Top: From The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 12. Bottom: From The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 12, No. 2, p. 198. Information on Dr. Lachman's books can be found at Google Books. This is the link for the "Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry" graphic (pdf).