History of octanol-water partition coefficient We are aware that one of the basic information about a material is the logP value it has. The logP is worked out from the partitioning between the octanol and the water phases. Does anyone know who was the first to introduce this octanol-water partition coefficient? I had a look through the literature but was not able to find the author of that rule.
The most oft-cited publication is Partition Coefficients and Their Uses. A. Leo, C. Hansch, and D. Elkins. Chemical Reviews 71(6), 525-616 (1971). This manuscript was noted as a "Citation Classic" (see text here) in which A. Leo writes (in part):


  In recognition of the effort of designing
  a method of calculating log P (o:w) from
  structure, the early version of which was reported
  in this article, the Chesapeake section
  of Sigma Xi presented me with its Excellence
  in Science Award for 1980.”


Note bene: In the last article I've linked, mention is made that the phenomena was first investigated by Bertholet in 1872 and "put on a firm basis by Nernst in 1891." That said, the 1971 publication of Leo $\it{et\; al}$ is the first modern/comprehensive listing of octanol-water partition coefficients and the place where the symbology (and definition) were written.