In 1935, John Kendall, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, wrote to the Journal of Chemical Education with what one can imagine was more than a hint of glee. He reported that there was a list of names, written in Joseph Black’s hand, under the heading “List of the Members of the Chemical Society“. These names had previously been thought to have been people from the city of Edinburgh with an interest in chemistry, or indeed those drawn from the general population of the country. Kendall had the simple but ingenious idea of checking the register of students of the University of Edinburgh from this…
Tag: History of Chemistry
Inquiry learning of chemistry in 19th century girls schools
Consider the following scenario: Young children are delighted to be so regarded, to be told that they are to act as a band of young detectives. For example, in studying the rusting of iron, they at once fall in with the idea that a crime, as it were, is committed when the valuable strong iron is changed into useless, brittle rust; with the greatest interest they set about finding out whether it is a case of murder or suicide, as it were−whether something outside the iron is concerned in the change or whether it changes of its own accord The…
William Cullen and the early teaching of chemistry #oldtimechem
They don’t make student satisfaction quotes like they used to in the old days: “Dr Cullen was always at pains to examine his students from time to time on those parts of his course that had already been delivered; and wherever he found any one at a loss, he explained it anew, in a clear, familiar manner, suited to the capacity of the student.” This quote was from a former student of William Cullen, who took up the Chemical Lectureship at Glasgow in 1747. He held the first independent chemistry lectureship in Britain and Ireland, with chemistry previously being what…
500 Years of Science Infographic
This is a great way of representing the contributions to science over the course of 500 years. The chemistry line (tan coloured) begins with origins in alchemy and starts as chemistry proper with Robert Boyle, followed by Black, Cavendish, Lavoisier and Priestley. The station intersections show where one scientist had an impact on two or more disciplines – needless to say Newton is a central hub! Click on the image to access a version of the map which allows each scientist’s name to be followed through to their Wikipedia entry. To ensure you always have the latest version of the…
Chemistry: A Volatile History
Congratulations to all concerned in the production of the recent BBC series “Chemistry: A Volatile History”. This series reminds me of Bill Bryson’s book, “A Short History of Nearly Everything“, in the way that the lives of the scientists involved in the chemical discoveries are discussed to give a rich context for their discoveries and innovation. I plan to return to this subject but for the moment I have linked below the three episodes, which are available on YouTube to all of us non-UK based-non-BBC-iPlayer people. Episode 1: Discovering the Elements Episode 2: The Order of the Elements Episode 3:…