Bryan Higgins (1741 – 1818) was an Irish

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. He was born in

Collooney Collooney or Coloony () is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. Toponymy Collooney is thought to derive from . Reverend Terrence O'Rorke has previously also suggested ''Culmaine'', as Collooney is designated this way in such works as ''the annals ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His father (d. 1777) was also called Dr. Bryan Higgins. Higgins entered the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

in 1765, whence he qualified as a doctor of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. He subsequently ran a School of Practical

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

at 13 Greek Street,

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

during the 1770s, which was patronised by the then

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

amongst others. He was more of a speculator than an experimenter, and published many works on chemistry and related disciplines.

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

was an attendee of Higgins's lectures, but the two became enemies following a dispute over experiments on

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

(Priestley at the time was working on his six-volume tome ''

Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air ''Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air'' (1774–86) is a six-volume work published by 18th-century British polymath Joseph Priestley which reports a series of his experiments on "airs" or gases, most notably his discovery of ...

''). At some point between 1780 and 1790, Higgins visited

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

at the favour of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. He returned to London in January 1794 to continue his lectures at the School of Practical Chemistry. In 1779, Higgins obtained a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for a cheap and durable

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

, "...composed of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

and

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

, and a certain proportion of bone-ashes, the lime being slaked with

limewater Limewater is the common name for a saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide. Calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, is sparsely soluble at room temperature in water (1.5 g/L at 25 °C). "Pure" (i.e. less than or fully saturated) limewater i ...

instead of common

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

, and the

mixture In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different chemical substances which are not chemically bonded. A mixture is the physical combination of two or more substances in which the identities are retained and are mixed in the ...

made use of as rapidly as possible after being made". In 1797, Higgins was hired by a public committee in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

for the improvement of the manufacture of

muscovado Muscovado is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour, and dark brown in colour. It is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar or a centrifuged, partially refined sugar accordin ...

and

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phili ...

. He resided in Jamaica from 1797 to 1799. According to Higgins's

atomic theory Atomic theory is the scientific theory that matter is composed of particles called atoms. Atomic theory traces its origins to an ancient philosophical tradition known as atomism. According to this idea, if one were to take a lump of matter a ...

, central particles were surrounded by atmospheres of

caloric Caloric is a brand of kitchen appliances, which dates back to 1903. History Caloric Corporation began as the Klein Stove Company in Philadelphia in 1890. The Caloric brand was introduced in 1903. It was reorganized in 1946 as the Caloric Stove C ...

, a model that was similar to the ideas adopted by

John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He is best known for introducing the atomic theory into chemistry, and for his research into colour blindness, which he had. Colour b ...

. It has been argued that Dalton knew of, and was influenced by, Higgins's theories, although Dalton never acknowledged Higgins's anticipation of his caloric model. Higgins died at his estate in Walford,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England, in 1818.

Published works

*Higgins, Bryan; (1776). ''A Philosophical Essay concerning

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

'', vol i, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1775 - 1776). ''Experiments on the Freezing of

Sea Water Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approx ...

'', appended to the Hon. Duines Barrington's ''The probability of reaching the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

'', 4to, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1780). ''Experiments and Observations made with the view of improving the Art of composing and applying calcareous Cements, and of preparing

Quicklime Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "''lime''" connotes calcium-containing inorganic ma ...

. Theory of these, and Specification of the Author’s cheap and durable Cement for Building, Incrustation, or

Stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

ing, and artificial Stone'', London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1786). ''Experiments and Observations relating to Acetous Acid, fixable Air, Dense Inflammable Air,

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

s and

Fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

, the Matter of

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

and

, Metallic Reduction,

Combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combusti ...

Fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

Putrefaction Putrefaction is the fifth stage of death, following pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, and livor mortis. This process references the breaking down of a body of an animal, such as a human, post-mortem. In broad terms, it can be viewed ...

Respiration Respiration may refer to: Biology * Cellular respiration, the process in which nutrients are converted into useful energy in a cell ** Anaerobic respiration, cellular respiration without oxygen ** Maintenance respiration, the amount of cellula ...

, and other subjects of Chemical Philosophy'', 1 vol, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1786). ''An analysis of the Tilbury alternative water at West Tilbury Hall, recently made at the instance of Mr. John Ellison, by Bryan Higgins, M.D. With an account of the remarkable and extraordinary cases of Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Nash, and of its efficacy in effecting their cure'', London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1788). ''Synopsis of the Medicinal Contents of the most noted Mineral Waters, analysed by Dr. Higgins at the instance of John Ellison'', 8vo, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1795). ''Minutes of the Society for Philosophical Experiments and Conversations'' *Higgins, Bryan; (1797 - 1800). ''Observations and Advices'', 2pts., 8vo, St Jago se la Vega.

References

External links

* *(1849). " The Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical Science; consisting of Original Communications, Reviews, Retrospects, and Reports, including the latest discoveries in medicine, surgery, and the collateral sciences". Hodges and Smith, Grafton Street, Dublin.
"Scholarly Societies Project - Society for Philosophical Experiments and Conversations"
Retrieved August 17, 2005. *Higgins, Bryan (1780
''Experiments and observations made with the view of improving the art of composing and applying calcareous cements &c.''
- digital facsimile from the

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...

Syllabus of Doctor Higgin's Course of Philosophical, Pharmaceutical, and Technical Chemistry
From the Rare Book and Special Collection Division at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Bryan Irish chemists Natural philosophers People from County Sligo 1741 births 1818 deaths