George Fownes, FRS (14 May 1815 in London – 31 January 1849) was a British

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 t ...

. He attended the Palace School in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

. He obtained his PhD at

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...

, in Germany. From 1842 he was chemistry professor at the

Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) existed from its founding as the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1841 until 2010. The word "Royal" was added to its name in 1988. It was the statutory regulatory and professional ...

, and from 1846 at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

, London. He was also secretary of the

Chemical Society of London 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 was the driving force behind its creation. ...

. In 1844, he published a chemistry textbook. In 1842, he had been awarded the Royal Agricultural Society's prize for his essay ''Food of Plants''. In 1844, he received the first Actonian Prize (of 100 guineas) for his essay ''Chemistry as Exemplifies the Wisdom and Beneficence of God''. This work was compared to the ''

Bridgewater Treatises The Bridgewater Treatises (1833–36) are a series of eight works that were written by leading scientific figures appointed by the President of the Royal Society in fulfilment of a bequest of £8000, made by Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridg ...

'' and Fownes was referred to as "a thorough chemist, a sound philosopher, and an enlightened Christian."Park Benjamin, James Aldrich, Henry Champion Deming, James Mackay (1844). ''The New World: A Weekly Family Journal of Popular Literature, Science, Art and News, Volume 9''. J. Winchester. p. 279 He was elected a fellow 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 1845, but that same year resigned from his academic positions due to ill health. For his researches in organic chemistry, he was awarded the Royal Society's Royal Medal in 1847. He spent time in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

from 1847, in an attempt to treat the pulmonary disease afflicting him, but, on his return to England in 1848, he caught a cold and died at his father's house in Brompton at the age of 34.

Papers

* “On the Direct Formation of

Cyanogen Cyanogen is the chemical compound with the formula ( C N)2. It is a colorless and highly toxic gas with a pungent odor. The molecule is a pseudohalogen. Cyanogen molecules consist of two CN groups – analogous to diatomic halogen molecu ...

from its Elements,” ''Rep. Brit. Assoc.'', 1841, part ii. pp. 52, 53 * “On the Preparation of Artificial

Yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

,” ''Mem. Chem. Soc.'', i., 1841–43, pp. 100–103 * “On the Preparation of

Hippuric Acid Hippuric acid ( Gr. ''hippos'', horse, ''ouron'', urine) is a carboxylic acid and organic compound. It is found in urine and is formed from the combination of benzoic acid and glycine. Levels of hippuric acid rise with the consumption of phenol ...

,” ''Phil. Mag.'', xxi., 1842, pp. 382–384 * “On the Food of Plants” rize essay ''Jour. Agric. Soc.'', iv., 1843, pp. 498–556 * “On the Existence of

Phosphoric Acid Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, w ...

in Rocks of Igneous Origin,” ''Phil. Trans.'', 1844, pp. 53–56 * “An Account of the Artificial Formation of a Vegeto-alkali” (

Furfurol Furfuryl alcohol is an organic compound containing a furan substituted with a hydroxymethyl group. It is a colorless liquid, but aged samples appear amber. It possesses a faint odor of burning and a bitter taste. It is miscible with but unstable ...

), and “On Benzoline,” ''Phil. Trans.'', 1845, pp. 253–268 * “On the Production of Furfurol,” ''Pharm. Journ.'', 1849, 113–116 * “On the Equivalent or Combining Volumes of Solid Bodies,” ''Pharm. Journ.'', pp. 334–339.

Sources

* *
Entry for Fownes
in the Royal Society's Library and Archive catalogue's details of Fellows (accessed 21 April 2008)

References

External links

from ''Today In Science History''
The life and work of George Fownes, F.R.S. (1815–49)
J. S. Rowe in ''Annals of Science'' (1850)
George Fownes's ''Chemistry, as exemplifying the wisdom and beneficence of God'' (1844)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fownes, George 1815 births 1849 deaths British chemists Fellows of the Royal Society Royal Medal winners