Charles Wilson Vincent

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 (1837–1905) was a 19th-century British chemist, and was also librarian at both 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 ...

and the Reform Club in

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 ...

. He was a Sandemanian.

Life

He was born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

in London on 11 May 1837 the eldest of 12 children of Benjamin Vincent (1818-1899), a colleague of

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 his wife Janey Young. He was baptised in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

on 16 June. Benjamin became a Sandemanian at the influence of Faraday in 1832. He joined the Royal Institution in 1851 as Assistant Librarian, under his father as Librarian. Aged 14 his role presumably was that of a trainee or apprentice. A second son Robert Vincent also joined as second assistant. Charles began lecturing at the Royal College of Chemistry in 1854 (aged only 17). He resigned as Librarian of the Royal Institution in 1857 to join the chemical industry. He became a member of the Sandemanian Church in 1859 but resigned in 1864. In 1875 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 ...

for his contributions to chemistry. His proposers were

Andrew Pritchard Andrew Pritchard FRSE (14 December 1804 – 24 November 1882) was an English naturalist and natural history dealer who made significant improvements to microscopy and studied microscopic organisms. His belief that God and nature were one led him ...

, William Rutherford,

George James Allman George James Allman FRS FRSE (181224 November 1898) was an Irish ecologist, botanist and zoologist who served as Emeritus Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh University in Scotland. Life Allman was born in Cork, Ireland, the son of Jam ...

and

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Keepe ...

. He became librarian to the Reform Club in 1879, replacing Henry Campkin. He died on 11 September 1905 in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

Publications

*''On the Sulphur Deposits of Krlsuvik,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

'' (1873) *''The Yearbook of Facts in Science and Art'' (from 1855 to 1876) *''Burton Brewing Water'' (1878) *''Chemistry: Theoretical, Practical and Analytical'' (1879)

Family

He was married to Ann or Anne Ross Baxter in 1864 at Islington Registry Office. They had a truly remarkable 20 children. One of his sisters was named Sarah Faraday Vincent in honour of Faraday.

References

1837 births 1905 deaths People from the London Borough of Islington English chemists English non-fiction writers English librarians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-chemist-stub