James Bell (1825–1908) was a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

chemist, known for his work on analyses of food, tobacco and alcoholic drinks.

Early life

Born at Altnanaghan,

Newtownhamilton Newtownhamilton is a small town and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies predominantly within Tullyvallan townland. The civil parish is within the historic barony of Fews Upper. In the 2011 Census it had 2,836 inhabitants. ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

, he was educated privately and at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where he studied chemistry under

Alexander William Williamson Prof Alexander William Williamson FRS FRSE PCS MRIA (1 May 18246 May 1904) was an English chemist. He is best known today for the Williamson ether synthesis. Life Williamson was born in 1824 in Wandsworth, London, the second of three childr ...

. In 1846, he became an assistant in the Inland Revenue Laboratory at Somerset House, established to carry out the provisions of the Tobacco Act 1842; and was successively deputy principal from 1867 to 1874, and principal from 1874 till his resignation in 1894.

Career

The work of the laboratory was extended to alcoholic products; and when the Food and Drugs Act 1872 was amended in 1875, Bell was made chemical referee when disputed analyses of food were brought to court. Bell elaborated methods for analysing chemically foods within the operation of the Act. He was also consulting chemist to the Indian government, 1869 to 1894. Bell's work was recognized in 1884 by his election as

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

, and he obtained the degree of Ph.D. from the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1882 and received the hon. D.Sc. from the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...

(1886). He was made C.B. in 1889. He was a member of the Playfair committee on British and foreign spirits, and served as president of the

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 ...

from 1888 to 1891.

Works

Bell's researches into grape and malt ferments were published in the ''Excise Officers' Manual'' (1865) and in the ''Journal of the Chemical Society'' in 1870. Many of his results were written up in ''The Analysis and Adulteration of Foods'' (3 pts. 1881–3; German translation, Berlin, 1882–5). He published also ''Chemistry of Tobacco'' (1887).

Family

Bell married in 1858 Ellen (died 1900), daughter of W. Reece of Chester, and left one son, Sir William James Bell, who was alderman of the London county council (1903–7).

Death

Bell died at

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

on 31 March 1908, and was buried at

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, James 1825 births 1908 deaths Irish chemists Fellows of the Royal Society People from County Armagh Food chemists