Charles Morton Aikman
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 ...
FIC FCS (10 May 1861 – 14 November 1902) was a 19th century Scottish agricultural chemist and scientific author.
Life
He was born on 10 May 1861, the son of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
merchant and shipping agent Thomson Aikman (1817-1893) and his wife Janet Morton (1815-1857). They lived at Hamilton Crescent in
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...
.
He studied Sciences at
Glasgow University
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, caption = Coat of arms
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, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
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specialising in Organic Chemistry. He graduated MA in 1883, gaining a further BSc in 1885 and a doctorate (DSc) in 1894.
In 1888 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
. His proposers were
Andrew Peebles Aitken
Andrew Peebles Aitken FRSE FBSE (1843-1904) was a Scottish agricultural chemist remembered primarily for his research into fertiliser response times. He laid the foundations of modern understanding of increased crop yields through the use of ar ...
,
James Burgess Readman
Dr James Burgess Readman FRSE FCS FSSA (c.1850–April 1927) was a Scottish chemist who invented an electric furnace for creating phosphorus invented in 1888 and patented in 1889.
Life
He was born in Glasgow the son of George Readman, a bank ...
,
William Dittmar
Professor William Dittmar FRS FRSE LLD (1833 – 1892) was a German-born scientist renowned as a chemical analyst. He was based largely in Scotland. He did much analytical work on the findings from the Challenger expedition.
He was the first to ...
and
Thomas A. G. Balfour. At this stage he was living at Middlefield House in
Partickhill
Partickhill ( gd, A' Bhrae na Partaig) is a district of the city of Glasgow. Located to the north of Partick, south of Hyndland and west of Dowanhill, it contains mixed housing stock of tenemental type property and villa style houses, as well as ...
.
In 1891 he began lecturing in Chemistry at
Glasgow University
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
. In 1893 (aged only 32) he was created Professor of Chemistry at Glasgow Veterinary College.
In 1900 his address was given as 21 Snowdon Place in
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
.
He died on 14 November 1902 and is memorialised on the family stone in the
Glasgow Necropolis
The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...
.
Publications
*''
Potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. Manuring''
*''The Food of Crops and How to Apply It''
*''Milk its Nature and Composition'' (1895)
*''The Book of the Dairy''
*''Farmyard Manure: Its Nature, Composition and Treatment''
*''Manures and the Principles of Manuring'' (1910)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aikman, Charles Morton
1861 births
1902 deaths
Academics of the University of Glasgow
People from Partick
Scottish biochemists
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh