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The history of crystallography has been assessed in the context of the emergence and spread of the molecular theory. The present paper focuses on the 19th century, which saw the emancipation of crystallography as a science sui generis . Around 1800, Laplace‘s molecularism called the tune in the various sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, crystallography). In crystallography, two schools opposed each other: that of Weiss, in Berlin, and that of Haüy, in Paris. Symmetry proved essential. It will be shown how the lattice theory arose in an essentially molecular framework and how group theory imposed itself. The salt hydrates suggested the idea of (two or more) superimposed molecular lattices. Gradually it became clear that an ultimate lattice theory ought to be atomic . The experiments of Laue, Friedrich and Knipping confirmed that atomic basis.

The discovery of X-ray diffraction is reviewed from the perspective of the contemporary knowledge in 1912 about the nature of X-rays. Laue‘s inspiration that led to the experiments by Friedrich and Knipping in Sommerfeld‘s institute was based on erroneous expectations. The ensuing discoveries of the Braggs clarified the phenomenon (although they, too, emerged from dubious assumptions about the nature of X-rays). The early misapprehensions had no impact on the Nobel Prizes to Laue in 1914 and the Braggs in 1915; but when the prizes were finally awarded after the war, the circumstances of ‘Laue‘s discovery’ gave rise to repercussions. Many years later, they resulted in a dispute about the ‘myths of origins’ of the community of crystallographers.

The first attempts at measuring the optical properties of X-rays such as refraction, reflection and diffraction are described. The main ideas forming the basis of Ewald‘s thesis in 1912 are then summarized. The first extension of Ewald‘s thesis to the X-ray case is the introduction of the reciprocal lattice. In the next step, the principles of the three versions of the dynamical theory of diffraction, by Darwin, Ewald and Laue, are given. It is shown how the comparison of the dynamical and geoämetrical theories of diffraction led Darwin to propose his extinction theory. The main optical properties of X-ray wavefields at the Bragg incidence are then reviewed: Pendellösung , shift of the Bragg peak, fine structure of Kossel lines, standing waves, anomalous absorption, paths of wavefields inside the crystal, Borrmann fan and double refraction. Lastly, some of the modern applications of the dynamical theory are briefly outlined: X-ray topography, location of adsorbed atoms at crystal surfaces, optical devices for synchrotron radiation and X-ray interferometry.

Diffractionists usually place the birth of crystallography in 1912 with the first X-ray diffraction expeäriment of Friedrich, Knipping and Laue. This discovery propelled the mathematical branch of mineralogy to global importance and enabled crystal structure determination. Knowledge of the geometrical structure of matter at atomic resolution had revolutionary consequences for all branches of the natural sciences: physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences and material science. It is scarcely possible for a single person in a single article to trace and appropriately value all of these developments. This article presents the limited, subjective view of its author and a limited selection of references. The bulk of the article covers the history of X-ray structure determination from the NaCl structure to aperiodic structures and macromolecular structures. The theoretical foundations were available by 1920. The subsequent success of crystallography was then due to the development of diffraction equipment, the theory of the solution of the phase problem, symmetry theory and computers. The many structures becoming known called for the development of crystal chemistry and of data banks. Diffuse scattering from disordered structures without and with partial long-range order allows determination of short-range order. Neutron and electron scattering and diffraction are also mentioned.

We summarize exploratory work on multigrain crystallography. The experimental arrangement comprises a monochromatic beam, a fully illuminated sample with up to several hundred grains in transmission geometry on a rotary table and a 2D detector. Novel algorithms are presented for indexing, integration and filtering with emphasis on handling the complications of spot overlap and the need for on-line analysis. The structure solution and refinement steps are performed by conventional single crystal programs. Simulations are used to verify the algorithms and to probe the overall limitations of the methodology in terms of number of grains, size of unit cell and direct space resolution. First experimental results in the fields of chemistry, structural biology and time-resolved studies in photochemistry are presented. As an outlook, the concept of TotalCrystallography is introduced, defined as the simultaneous characterization of the 3D atomic, and 3D grain-scale structure of polycrystalline specimens with phases of unknown composition and structure.