The fall and rise of the history of recent chemistry

This paper defines the history of recent chemistry, and then charts the disappearance of the history of recent chemistry ("how we got here" history) from general histories of chemistry by the late 1930s. It is also shown how the history of recent chemistry in the early decades of the twentieth century was very much the history of physical chemistry. The revival of the history of recent chemistry is attributed to Eduard Farber and Aaron lhde. Several attempts have been made since the early 1980s to promote the history of recent chemistry, with mixed results. The current situation is assessed, and the paper concludes with a proposal for the entrenchment of the subject.