Portrait of George Field (1777-1854) Wellcome L0019270

George Field (1777?–1854), was an English

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

. He was born in or about 1777 at

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

, Hertfordshire, of a family long settled in that town, and was educated at St. Peter's school there. When about eighteen years of age he came to London to seek a profession. He thought he saw an opening in the careful application of

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 ...

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

s and

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...

s. War on the continent, by stopping the supply of

madder ''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains coffee. It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World. The genus and its best-known spe ...

from

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, threatened to impede his progress. This obstacle, however, led him to consider the nature of its cultivation, and with a well-devised project he waited on 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 ...

for his advice, and, as he hoped, his co-operation. Sir Joseph, after unsuccessfully attempting to cultivate madder in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, had made up his mind that it could not be done in England.

Horticulture and inventions

Field then commenced the cultivation in his own garden, and from

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s of his own growth produced beautiful specimens of colouring matter. A contrivance, both mechanical and chemical, was still wanted to reduce the liquor to its finest consistence. His invention of the ‘physeter’ or

percolator A coffee percolator is a type of pot used for the brewing of coffee by continually cycling the boiling or nearly boiling brew through the Coffee preparation#Grinding, grounds using gravity until the required strength is reached. Coffee percolat ...

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

admirably accomplished this purpose. He exhibited his percolator, together with an improved drying stove and press, before the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

, and was awarded their gold Isis medal in 1816 ‘for his apparatus for preparing coloured lakes.’ Both apparatus are figured and described by him in the Society's ‘Transactions,’ xxxiv. 87–94. Oddly enough the percolator was patented by others several years after, and applied to the clearing of sugar. Field continued his application of science to the purposes of the artist with good effect; his dexterity and care in the preparation of delicate colours set all competition at defiance. Among his other inventions may be mentioned his metrochrome and his

conical A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

lenses A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

, which produced a continuous

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

with varied effects of

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomeno ...

Death and bequests

Field died at Syon Hill Park Cottage,

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, on 28 September 1854, aged 77. He bequeathed to the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

six architectural drawings by J. L. Bond; to the

Hanwell Lunatic Asylum St Bernard's Hospital, also known as Hanwell Insane Asylum and the Hanwell Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, was an asylum built for the pauper insane, opening as the First Middlesex County Asylum in 1831. Some of the original buildings are now part of ...

‘The Maniac,’ by R. Dawes, R.A.; while to the library of

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

he gave a portrait of Dr.

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and proper ...

, by Mirevelt.Gent. Mag. new ser. xlii. 596

Writings

Field's reputation as an author rests on his ''Chromatography; or, a Treatise on Colours and Pigments, and of their Powers in Painting'', London, 1835. A revised edition by T. W. Salter, appeared in 1869, and a third by J. S. Taylor, on the basis of Salter's, in 1885. Another professional treatise, his ''Rudiments of the Painter's Art; or, a Grammar of Colouring'' (London, 1850), was revised and in part rewritten by R. Mallet in 1870, and again in 1875 by E. A. Davidson, who added sections on painting in sepia, water-colours, and oils. Field's other writings were: * ''Tritogenea; or, A brief Outline of the Universal System'', in vol. ix. of ''The Pamphleteer'' (1813–26); 3rd edit., London, 1846. * ''Dianoia. The third Organon attempted; or, Elements of Logic and Subjective Philosophy'', in vol. xii. of the same publication. * ''The Analogy of the Physical Sciences indicated'', in vol. xv. of the same. * ''Æsthetics; or, the Analogy of the Sensible Sciences indicated, with an appendix on light and colours'', in vol. xvii. of the same. * ''Ethics; or, the Analogy of the Moral Sciences indicated'', in vol. xxiii. of the same. * ''Outlines of Analogical Philosophy, being a primary view of the principles, relations, and purposes of Nature, Science, and Art'', 2 vols., London, 1839.

References

External links

* * * Field's (1817
''Chromatics, Or, an essay on the analogy and harmony of colours''
– 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 ...

* Field's (1835
''Chromatography, or, A treatise on colours and pigments''
– digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library * Field's (1836
''Chromatographie''
(German) – digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library * Field's (1858
''Rudiments of the painters' art; or a grammar of colouring''
– digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library * Field's (1885
''Field's Chromatography''
– digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Field, George 1777 births 1854 deaths People from Berkhamsted English chemists 18th-century English people 19th-century chemists 19th-century English non-fiction writers English science writers