Prof James Alfred Wanklyn

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 ...

FCS MRCS (18 February 1834 – 19 July 1906) was a nineteenth-century English analytical chemist who is remembered today chiefly for his "ammonia method" of determining water quality and for his fierce arguments with those, such as

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 a ...

, who opposed him over matters related to water analysis. He worked with

and

Lyon Playfair Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair (1 May 1818 – 29 May 1898) was a British scientist and Liberal politician who was Postmaster-General from 1873 to 1874. Early life Playfair was born at Chunar, Bengal, the son of George Playfair (1782-1846) ...

. He gives his name to the Wanklyn reaction.

Life

He was born in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

on 18 February 1834 the son of Thomas Wanklyn and his wife, Ann Dakeyne, both members of the

Moravian Brethren , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Prot ...

. He was educated at the Moravian School in Fairfield, Lancashire. He was at first apprenticed to a physician in Manchester 1843 to 1848. This seemed to inspire an interest in drugs and human health. He then went to study Chemistry at

Owen's College The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

in Manchester. He then did postgraduate studies at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

under

Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bu ...

in Germany 1857 to 1859.ODNB: Wanklyn In 1859 he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and became a Demonstrator in Chemistry at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

. In 1860 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 proposer being

. In 1863 he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the

London Institution The London Institution was an educational institution founded in London in 1806 (not to be confused with the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom founded the previous year, with which it shared some founders). It ...

. He left the Institution in 1870 to concentrate on writing of scientific articles. During this period he founded the Society of Public Analysts. In 1877 he returned to London to lecture in Chemistry and physics at St George's Hospital but resigned in 1880. He was thereafter Public Analyst to

New Malden New Malden is an area in South West London, England. It is located mainly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston, Norbiton, Raynes ...

. He died at home, 6 Derby Villas in

in Surrey on 19 July 1906. He is buried in New Malden Cemetery

Selected editions of writings

*''Tea, coffee and cocoa: a practical treatise on the analysis of tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, maté (Paraguay tea), etc.'', London: Trubner and Company, 1874 *''Milk Analysis. A practical treatise on the examination of milk and its derivatives, cream, butter, and cheese'', London: Trubner and Company, 1874 *''Air Analysis: a practical treatise on the examination of air. With an appendix on illuminating gas'', London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Company, 1890
''Arsenic''
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Company, 1901
''Sewage Analysis''
2nd edition, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Company, 1905
''Water-analysis, a practical treatise on the examination of potable water''
1st edition 1876, 11th edition, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Company, 1907

Life

Selected editions of writings

References

Further reading