The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist

Robert Warington Robert Warington FRS (7 September 1807 – 17 November 1867) was an English chemist considered the driving force behind the creation of the world's first enduring chemistry society, The Chemical Society of London, which later became the Royal So ...

was the driving force behind its creation.

History

One of the aims of the Chemical Society was to hold meetings for "the communication and discussion of discoveries and observations, an account of which shall be published by the Society". In 1847, its importance was recognised by a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

, which added to its role in the advancement of science, the development of chemical applications in industry. Its members included eminent chemists from overseas including

August Wilhelm von Hofmann August Wilhelm von Hofmann (8 April 18185 May 1892) was a German chemist who made considerable contributions to organic chemistry. His research on aniline helped lay the basis of the aniline-dye industry, and his research on coal tar laid the g ...

, who became its president in 1861. Membership was open to all those interested in chemistry, but fellowship was for long restricted to men. In 1904,

Edith Humphrey Edith Ellen Humphrey (11 September 1875 – 25 February 1978) was a British inorganic chemist who carried out pioneering work in coordination chemistry, co-ordination chemistry at the University of Zurich under Alfred Werner. She is thought to ...

, thought to be the first British woman to gain a doctorate in chemistry (at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

), was one of nineteen women chemists to petition the Chemical Society for admission of women to fellowship. This was eventually granted in 1919, and Humphrey was subsequently elected to fellowship. The Chemical Society of London succeeded where a number of previous chemical associations - the

Lunar Society The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a British dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 ...

's London branch chemical society of the 1780s, the Animal Chemical Club of 1805, the London Chemical Society of 1824 - failed. One assertion of a cause of success of the Chemical Society of London is that it was, unlike its forerunners, a "fruitful amalgamation of the technological and academic chemist". Its activities expanded over the years, including eventually becoming a major publisher in the field of chemistry. On 15 May 1980, it amalgamated with the

Royal Institute of Chemistry The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation. Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland (ICGBI), its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its aim ...

, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry to become the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Inst ...

Presidents

* Thomas Graham: 1841–1843 * Arthur Aikin: 1843–1845 * Thomas Graham: 1845–1847 *

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 ...

: 1847–1849 * Richard Phillips: 1849–1851 *

Charles Daubeny Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny (11 February 179512 December 1867) was an English chemist, botanist and geologist. Education Daubeny was born at Stratton near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, the son of the Rev. James Daubeny. He went to Winchester ...

: 1851–1853 * Colonel Philip Yorke: 1853–1855 *

William Allen Miller William Allen Miller FRS (17 December 1817 – 30 September 1870) was a British scientist. Life Miller was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Ackworth School and King's College London. He was related to William Allen and first cou ...

: 1855–1857 * Sir Lyon Playfair: 1857–1859 * Sir Benjamin Brodie: 1859–1861 *

: 1861–1863 * Alexander William Williamson: 1863–1865 *

: 1865–1867 * Warren de la Rue: 1867–1869 * Alexander William Williamson: 1869–1871 * Sir

Edward Frankland Sir Edward Frankland, (18 January 18259 August 1899) was an English chemist. He was one of the originators of organometallic chemistry and introduced the concept of combining power or valence. An expert in water quality and analysis, he was ...

: 1871–1873 * William Odling: 1873–1875 * Sir Frederick Augustus Abel: 1875–1877 * John Hall Gladstone: 1877–1878 * Warren de la Rue: 1879–1880 * Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe: 1880–1882 * Sir Joseph Henry Gilbert: 1882–1883 *

William Henry Perkin Sir William Henry Perkin (12 March 1838 – 14 July 1907) was a British chemist and entrepreneur best known for his serendipitous discovery of the first commercial synthetic organic dye, mauveine, made from aniline. Though he failed in trying ...

: 1883–1885 * : 1885–1887 * Sir William Crookes: 1887–1889 *

William James Russell William James Russell (1830–1909) was an English chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society. Life Born in Gloucester on 20 May 1830, he was son of Thomas Rougher Russell (1775–1851), a banker there, and grandson of William Russell of Birming ...

: 1889–1891 *

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...

: 1891–1893 * Henry Edward Armstrong: 1893–1895 *

Augustus George Vernon Harcourt Augustus George Vernon Harcourt FRS (24 December 1834 – 23 August 1919) was an English chemist who spent his career at Oxford University. He was one of the first scientists to do quantitative work in the field of chemical kinetics. His uncle, ...

: 1895–1897 * Sir

James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied a ...

: 1897–1899 * Sir

Thomas Edward Thorpe Sir Thomas Edward Thorpe CB, FRS HFRSE LLD (8 December 1845 – 23 February 1925) was a British chemist. From 1894 to 1909 he was Chief Chemist to the British Government, as Director of the Government Laboratory. Early life and education Tho ...

: 1899–1901 * James Emerson Reynolds: 1901–1903 * William Augustus Tilden: 1903–1905 * Raphael Meldola: 1905–1907 * Sir

William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...

: 1907–1909 *

Harold Baily Dixon Harold Baily Dixon (1852–1930) was a British chemist. He was also an amateur footballer who appeared for Oxford University in the 1873 FA Cup Final. Early life Born in Marylebone, London, England, he attended Westminster School from ...

: 1909–1911 * Percy Faraday Frankland: 1911–1913 * Sir William Henry Perkin Jnr: 1913–1915

* Alexander Scott: 1915–1917 * Sir William Jackson Pope: 1917–1919 * James Johnston Dobbie: 1919–1921 * Sir James Walker: 1921–1923 * : 1923–1925 * : 1925–1926 * Herbert Brereton Baker: 1926–1928 * Sir Jocelyn Field Thorpe: 1928–1931 *

George Gerald Henderson George Gerald Henderson (30 January 1862 – 28 September 1942) was a chemist and professor at the University of Glasgow. He was known for his work on terpenes. Life Henderson was born to a Glasgow merchant in 1862. He entered the University o ...

: 1931–1933 * Sir : 1933–1935 * Nevil Vincent Sidgwick: 1935–1937 * Sir

Frederick George Donnan Frederick George Donnan CBE FRS FRSE (6 September 1870 – 16 December 1956) was a British-Irish physical chemist who is known for his work on membrane equilibria, and commemorated in the Donnan equilibrium describing ionic transport in cells. ...

: 1937–1939 * Sir Robert Robinson: 1939–1941 *

James Charles Philip James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

: 1941 to August 1941 * William Hobson Mills: 1941–1944 *

Walter Norman Haworth Sir Walter Norman Haworth FRS (19 March 1883 – 19 March 1950) was a British chemist best known for his groundbreaking work on ascorbic acid (vitamin C) while working at the University of Birmingham. He received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemis ...

: 1944–1946 * Sir

Cyril Norman Hinshelwood Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (19 June 1897 – 9 October 1967) was a British physical chemist and expert in chemical kinetics. His work in reaction mechanisms earned the 1956 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Education Born in London, his parents we ...

: 1946–1948 * Sir Ian Morris Heilbron: 1948–1950 * Sir Eric Keightley Rideal: 1950–1952 * Sir Christopher Kelk Ingold: 1952–1954 * : 1954–1956 * Sir

Edmund Langley Hirst Sir Edmund Langley Hirst CBE FRS FRSE (21 July 1898 – 29 October 1975), was a British chemist. Life Hirst was born in Preston, Lancashire on 21 July 1898 the son of Elizabeth (née Langley) and Rev Sim Hirst (1856-1923) a Baptist minister. He ...

: 1956–1958 *

Harry Julius Emeleus Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

: 1958–1960 * Lord Alexander Robertus Todd: 1960–1962 *

John Monteath Robertson John Monteath Robertson FRS FRSE PCS CBE LLD (1900–1989) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist and crystallographer. He was the recipient of the Davy Medal in 1960 and president of the Chemical Society from 1962 to 1964. Life He was born ...

: 1962–1964 * Sir Ewart Ray Herbert Jones: 1964–1966 * Sir Harry Work Melville: 1966–1968 * Sir Ronald Sydney Nyholm: 1968–1970 * Lord George Porter: 1970–1972 * Sir Frederick Sydney Dainton: 1972–1973 * Sir Derek Harold Richard Barton: 1973–1974 * Jack Wheeler Barrett: 1974–1975 * Frank Arnold Robinson: 1975–1976 * Cyril Clifford Addison: 1976–1977 * : 1977–1978 * Theodore Morris Sugden: 1978–1979 * Dr Alfred Spinks: 1979–1980

Original members

On 23 February 1841, a meeting was convened to take into consideration the formation of a Chemical Society. The Provisional Committee appointed for carrying that object into effect invited a number of gentlemen engaged in the practice and pursuit of chemistry to become original members. The following 77 communicated their written assent:

* Arthur Aikin * Thomas Andrews *

J A Barron J, or j, is the tenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is English alpha ...

* James Blake * William Blythe *

* E W Brayley * Henry James Brooke *

Charles Button Charles Edward Button (23 August 1838 – 27 December 1920) was a solicitor, Supreme Court judge, Mayor of Hokitika and later Birkenhead, and an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Born in Tasmania, he came to New Zeala ...

* Thomas Clark * William John Cock *

John Thomas Cooper John Thomas Cooper (1790–1854) was an English chemist notable as a lecturer, chemical supplier and chemical analyst, at a time when interest was burgeoning in chemistry as a discipline of study and application. Biography Cooper was born in Gre ...

John Thomas Cooper Jnr. John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Andrew Crosse Andrew Crosse (17 June 1784 – 6 July 1855) was a British scientist who was born and died at Fyne Court, Broomfield, Somerset. Crosse was an early pioneer and experimenter in the use of electricity. He became known after press reports of an ...

* Walter Crum * James Cumming * John Frederic Daniell *

Edmund Davy Edmund Davy FRS (1785 – 5 November 1857)Christopher F. Lindsey, 'Davy, Edmund (1785–1857)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200 accessed 6 April 2008/ref> was a professor of chemistry at the Royal Cork Inst ...

* Warren De la Rue * Thomas Everitt * William Ferguson * George Fownes * A Frampton * J P Gassiot * Thomas Gill

* Thomas Graham * John Graham *

John Joseph Griffin John Joseph Griffin (1802 – 9 June 1877) was an English chemist and publisher. Life Griffin was born in 1802 in Shoreditch, London, the son of a bookseller and publisher. The family moved to Glasgow when he was young. In present-day his famil ...

* Thomas Griffiths *

William Robert Grove Sir William Robert Grove, FRS FRSE (11 July 1811 – 1 August 1896) was a Welsh judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology. He invented the Grove volt ...

* Charles Heisch *

Henry Hennell Henry Hennell FRS (''c.'' 1797 – 4 June 1842) was an English chemist. Hennelll was one of the founders of the Chemical Society of London and was a member of the first elected Council of the Chemical Society. He was elected F.R.S. in 1829. He w ...

* Thomas Hetherington Henry * William Herapath *

Thomas Charles Hope Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a British physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at ...

* F R Hughes * Percival Johnson * James Johnston *

W B Leeson W, or w, is the twenty-third and fourth-to-last letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. It represents a consonant, but in some languages it ...

George Dixon Longstaff George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

George Lowe George Edward Lowe (born November 10, 1957) is an American voice actor and comedian whose voice roles include Space Ghost on the animated series ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' and its spin-off, ''Cartoon Planet''.Robert Macgregor *

Charles Macintosh Charles Macintosh FRS (29 December 1766 – 25 July 1843) was a Scottish chemist and the inventor of the modern waterproof raincoat. The Mackintosh raincoat (the variant spelling is now standard) is named after him. Biography Macintosh was ...

* John Mercer * William Hallowes Miller * Thomas Moody * David Mushet * J A Paris * H L Pattinson * Thomas Pearsall * Frederic Penny

* William Haseldine Pepys * Richard Phillips * Lyon Playfair * Robert Porrett * L H Potts * G Owen Rees *

David Boswell Reid Prof David Boswell Reid MD FRSE FRCPE (1805 – 5 April 1863) was a British physician, chemist and inventor. Through reports on public hygiene and ventilation projects in public buildings, he made a reputation in the field of sanitation. He has ...

* Thomas Richardson * Maurice Scanlan * Ollive Sims * Denham Smith * Edward Solly Jnr * John Stenhouse * Richard Taylor * John Tennent * E F Teschemacher *

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), Scottish ...

* Robert Dundas Thomson * Wilton George Turner *

* William West * James Low Wheeler * George Wilson * John Wilson * Philip Yorke

References

History of Royal Society of Chemistry and the former societies
{{Authority control History of chemistry Royal Society of Chemistry Defunct learned societies of the United Kingdom 1841 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct professional associations based in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1841 Organizations disestablished in 1980 1980 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

History

Presidents

Original members

See also

References