Prof Isaac Arthur Preece

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 ...

FRIC FIB (1907–1964) was a 20th century British biochemist and brewing scientist. He was the first person to suggest the addition of

ammonium sulphate Ammonium sulfate (American English and international scientific usage; ammonium sulphate in British English); (NH4)2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen a ...

in the brewing process.

Life

He was born on 19 March 1907 at 90 Worcester Street in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

the son of Isaac Arthur Preece, a

bassinette A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or caster wheels, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or gliding ...

maker, and his wife, Isabel Wright. He was educated at Birmingham Central Secondary School. He studied Chemistry at

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

gaining two postgraduate doctorates (DSc and PhD). From around 1930 he began lecturing in Biochemistry, with an emphasis on brewing, at

Heriot Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

. He was here for his entire working life, being given the unique role of Professor of Brewing and applied Biochemistry. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he took on a government role as Senior Gas Identification Officer. In 1949 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

James Cameron Smail Dr James Cameron Smail FRSE FRSGS PRSSA CBE LLD (1880-1970) was a Scottish university Principal. Heriot Watt University library is named the Cameron Smail Library in his honour. He wrote extensively on printing and the history of printing. Life ...

William Ogilvy Kermack William Ogilvy Kermack FRS FRSE FRIC (26 April 1898 – 20 July 1970) was a Scottish biochemist. He made mathematical studies of epidemic spread and established links between environmental factors and specified diseases. He is noteworthy for ...

Guy Frederic Marrian Frederic Guy Marrian CBE FRS FRSE FIC (3 March 1904 – 24 July 1981) was a British biochemist mainly known for his research into oestregen. Life He was born in London on 3 March 1904 the son of Mary Eddington Currie and Frederic York Marrian, a ...

and Hugh Bryan Nisbet. He died on 12 August 1964 in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

aged 57.

Publications

*''Barley and Malt: Biology, Biochemistry, Technology'' (1930) *''The Biochemistry of Brewing'' (1954) *''Malting, Brewing and Allied Processes'' (1960)

Family

He was married to Dorothy Maud Banner in the 1930s. His children included the statistician Donald Arthur Preece (1939-2014).

References

1907 births 1964 deaths People from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of the University of Birmingham British biochemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-scientist-stub