Charles Hatchett
FRS FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(2 January 1765 – 10 March 1847) was an English
mineralogist
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...
and
analytical chemist
Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...
who discovered the element
niobium
Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has sim ...
, for which he proposed the name "columbium".
Hatchett was elected a Fellow of the
Linnaean Society
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
in 1795,
and of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1797.
Hatchett was elected to the
Literary Club in London in 1809 and became its treasurer in 1829.
Life
Charles Hatchett was born in
Long Acre
Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and l ...
, London to John Hatchett (1729–1806), and Elizabeth Hatchett.
John Hatchett was "(one of) the coachbuilders of London of the greatest celebrity".
He later became a magistrate in Hammersmith. Charles Hatchett attended a private school, Fountayne's, in Marylebone Park, and was a self-taught mineralogist and analytical chemist.
On 24 March 1786, Charles Hatchett married Elizabeth Martha Collick (1756–1837)
at
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
. Their children included:
#John Charles Hatchett (bapt 27 January 1788 St Martin-in-the-Fields)
#His daughter, Anna Frederica Hatchett, married the chemist
William Thomas Brande
William Thomas Brande FRS FRSE (11 January 178811 February 1866) was an English chemist.
Biography
Brande was born in Arlington Street, London, England, the youngest son of six children to Augustus Everard Brande an apothecary, originally fr ...
.
Following their marriage, Hatchett and his wife traveled extensively in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
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 ...
for 2 years before settling in
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
. In 1790, Hatchett again had the opportunity to travel extensively, when his father sent him to deliver a coach to
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 ...
in
St. 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 ...
. With an introduction from
Sir Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...
, he visited chemist
Martin Klaproth
Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1 December 1743 – 1 January 1817) was a German chemist. He trained and worked for much of his life as an apothecary, moving in later life to the university. His shop became the second-largest apothecary in Berlin, and ...
, geologist and botanist
Peter Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810.
Life and work
Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son ...
, Neapolitan mineralogist
Andrea Savaresi, and other scientists.
In 1796 Hatchett took another long tour, this time through England and Scotland, where he visited geological sites, mines, and factories.
His diary of this trip was edited by
Arthur Raistrick and published in 1967 as ''The Hatchett diary: a tour through the counties of England and Scotland in 1796 visiting their mines and manufactories''.
Chemistry
Charles Hatchett's work on chemistry occurred mostly between 1796 and 1806, a ten-year period. In 1796, he published "An analysis of the Corinthian molybdate of lead", resolving a dispute over the nature of the mineral. In 1797 he was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society, largely as a result of this work. In more than 20 additional papers, he addressed the chemistry of
minerals
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...
,
resins
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
and
natural products
A natural product is a natural Chemical compound, compound or chemical substance, substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. In the broadest sense, natural products include any substance produced by life. Natural product ...
.
In 1800 Hatchett may have opened a small chemical works at
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
in London.
In 1798, Hatchett was asked by members of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
to work with
Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "infl ...
and assess "the state of the coins of the realm" to ensure that they were not being adulterated.
He produced a 152-page-long report in 1803. He concluded that 'there was no important defect in the composition or quantity of the standard gold'.
Hatchett developed a collection of over 7000 minerals, which he sold to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in London in 1799. He agreed to organize the museum's mineral collection, but retained the right to remove and analyze portions of some of the specimens.
In 1801, Hatchett analyzed a piece of
columbite
Columbite, also called niobite, niobite-tantalite and columbate [], is a black mineral group that is an ore of niobium. It has a submetallic Lustre (mineralogy), luster and a high density and is a niobate of iron and manganese. This mineral group ...
from the collection at the British Museum. Columbite turned out to be a very complex mineral, and Hachett discovered that it contained a "new earth" which implied the existence of a new element. Lavoisier had defined the term "element" a mere 13 years previously. Hatchett called this new element "columbium" (Cb) in honour of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
, the discoverer of America.
[
]
On 26 November of that year he announced his discovery before the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
.
In 1802
Anders Gustaf Ekeberg
Anders Gustaf Ekeberg ( Stockholm, Sweden, 16 January 1767 – Uppsala, Sweden, 11 February 1813) was a Swedish analytical chemist who discovered tantalum in 1802. - subscription required
He was notably deaf.
Education
Anders Gustav Ekeberg ...
(1767–1813) announced the discovery of another new element, "tantalum". For many years, there was confusion over whether columbium and tantalum were the same.
In 1846, German chemist
Heinrich Rose
Heinrich Rose (6 August 1795 – 27 January 1864) was a German mineralogist and analytical chemist. He was the brother of the mineralogist Gustav Rose and a son of Valentin Rose.
Rose's early works on phosphorescence were noted in the Quarter ...
argued that there were two additional elements in tantalite, which he named niobium and pelopium for the children of the
Cyclops
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
. Eventually, Rose's niobium (atomic number 41) was found to be identical to Hatchett's columbium. In 1949, the name ''niobium'' was chosen for element 41 at the 15th Conference of the Union of Chemistry in Amsterdam.
Publications
*''Analysis of Magnetical Pyrites'' (1804)
*''Treatise on Spikenard of the Ancients'' (1836)
Later life
After his father's death, Hatchett largely gave up his activities as a chemist. He inherited his father's coach-making business and pursued interests in collecting books, manuscripts, paintings, and musical instruments. His loss was lamented by colleagues such as
Thomas Thomson Thomas Thomson may refer to:
* Tom Thomson (1877–1917), Canadian painter
* Thomas Thomson (apothecary) (died 1572), Scottish apothecary
* Thomas Thomson (advocate) (1768–1852), Scottish lawyer
* Thomas Thomson (botanist) (1817–1878), Scottis ...
(1773–1852), who wrote that Hatchett "was an active chemist…but unfortunately this most amiable and accomplished man has been lost to science for more than a quarter of a century; the baneful effects of wealth, and cares of a lucrative and extensive business, having completely waned him from scientific pursuits".
Hatchett lived at
Mount Clare, Roehampton
Mount Clare is a Grade I listed house built in 1772 in Minstead Gardens, Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth.
The architect was Sir Robert Taylor, and the house was enlarged with a portico and other enrichments in 1780 by Placid ...
from 1807 to 1819.
It has been described as "a little estate built in a fine Italian style" with nearby "a very well-equipped laboratory".
The house was designed by Sir
Robert Taylor for
George Clive, with modifications by the Italian architect
Placido Columbani in 1780. The gardens were laid out by
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...
in 1774.
In 1818 Hatchett either bought back
or chose to no longer lease out the house that had been built by his father in 1771, Belle Vue, 92 Cheyne Walk, in
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area.
Chelsea histori ...
.
A grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, it has a large central portion with bay windows back and front, and two wings. It overlooks gardens and the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
. He lived there for the rest of his life. Elizabeth, his wife, predeceased him in 1837.
Hatchett himself died at Belle Vue House in 1847, and is buried at
St Laurence's Church, Upton-cum-Chalvey, Slough,
the same church where his friend
William Herschel
Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline H ...
is interred.
Recognition
Hatchett was awarded the
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
by the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1798.
In 1828, he was recognized by the
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
. Hatchett,
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for t ...
, William Thomas Brande,
William Hyde Wollaston
William Hyde Wollaston (; 6 August 1766 – 22 December 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingo ...
,
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...
and
John Frederic Daniell
John Frederic Daniell FRS (12 March 1790 – 13 March 1845) was an English chemist and physicist.
Biography
Daniell was born in London. In 1831 he became the first professor of chemistry at the newly founded King's College London; and in 18 ...
received a gold medal for their discoveries in chemistry. The award was given by
John Fuller, founder of the Institution's
Fullerian Chair of Chemistry.
In 1979, the
Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração established the Charles Hatchett Award.
It is presented by the
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining ("IOM3") (London), yearly, to a noted metallurgist. The award is given for "the best research on the science and technology of niobium and its alloys".
The medal is cast in pure niobium.
External links
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatchett, Charles
1765 births
1847 deaths
Discoverers of chemical elements
Fellows of the Royal Society
Recipients of the Copley Medal
People from Chelsea, London
Place of birth missing
18th-century English chemists
Niobium
Rare earth scientists
Scientists from London