James Pickering Kendall
FRS 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 ...
(30 July 1889, in
Chobham
Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England.
The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne and its northern tributary, the Hale, ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
– 14 June 1978, in
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 ...
) was a British chemist.
Life
Kendall was born in
Chobham
Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England.
The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne and its northern tributary, the Hale, ...
, Surrey to soldier William Henry Kendall of the
Royal Horse Artillery, and his second wife Rebecca Pickering. He attended the local village school and then, from 1900,
Farnham Grammar School
Farnham Grammar School is now called Farnham College which is located in Farnham, Surrey, southern England.
History
The grammar school was created at some time before 1585 (the date of a donation being made by a Richard Searle "to the mainten ...
. From 1907 to 1910, he studied at the
University of Edinburgh
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 1 ...
graduating with both a BSc and MA.
In 1912, with the support of a scholarship, he went to the
Nobel Institute for Physical Chemistry in Stockholm to work with
Arrhenius on electrolytes.
In 1913, he accepted the position as Professor of Chemistry at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, New York. He also served in 1917 as a
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
in the
United States Naval Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sel ...
, acting as Liaison Officer with Allied Services on
Chemical Warfare
Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military a ...
.
His candidacy for 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 ...
of London in 1924 read: ''"Distinguished as an investigator in physical and general chemistry. Has published since 1912, partly with collaborators, over sixty papers in Proc Roy Soc, Journ Chem Soc, Phil Mag, Journ Amer Chem Soc, Journ Phys Chem, etc, dealing with the following subjects: - 'Mechanism of the Ionisation Process'; The Problem of Strong Electrolytes'; 'Correlation of Compound Formation, Ionisation and Solubility in Solution, and in Fused Salt Mixtures'; 'Prediction of Solubility in Polar Solutions'; 'Stability of Hydrates and other Additive Compounds'; 'Viscosity of Binary Mixtures'; 'A Method for the Separation of Rare Earths and of Isotopes."'' He was elected a Fellow (FRS) in 1927.
In 1926, he moved to be Professor of Chemistry at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
pending a final move back to Scotland to be Professor of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh
In 1929, 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 Sir James Walker,
Alexander Lauder,
George Barger
George Barger FRS FRSE FCS LLD (4 April 1878 – 5 January 1939) was a British chemist.
Life
He was born to an English mother, Eleanor Higginbotham, and Gerrit Barger, a Dutch engineer in Manchester, England.
He was educated at Utrecht and T ...
, and
John Edwin Mackenzie
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Seco ...
. He served as the Society's Secretary from 1933 to 1936, General Secretary from 1936 to 1946, Vice President from 1946 to 1949 and President from 1949 to 1954.
In 1938, Kendall was invited to deliver the
Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on ''Young Chemists and Great Discoveries''.
In 1915, he married Alice Tyldesley (d.1955) of British Columbia in 1915. He retired in 1959 and died in Edinburgh in 1978. He was survived by his second wife Jane Bain Steven and children from his first marriage, including
James Tyldesley Kendall 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 ...
.
James Kendall appears as a character in the opera ''Breathe Freely'' by Scottish Composer
Julian Wagstaff
Julian Wagstaff (born 1970) is a Scottish composer of classical music, musical theatre and opera.
Born in Edinburgh, Wagstaff originally studied German language and politics, and graduated from the University of Reading in 1993. Wagstaff work ...
.
The opera's title is borrowed from Kendall's book of the same name.
Books published
He wrote and co-authored several books including:
* ''At Home Among the atoms'' (1929)
* ''Smith's Introductory College Chemistry'' (revised 1938) Appleton-Century, New York
* ''Breathe Freely! The Truth About Poison Gas''. First published April 1938, reprinted April 1938 and again in 1939 by Camelot Press Ltd London and Southampton
* ''Young Chemists and Great Discoveries'', G. Bell & Sons, London, 1939
* ''
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for t ...
"Pilot" of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
'' (1954)
* ''
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...
, Man of Simplicity'' (1955)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendall, James
1889 births
1978 deaths
English chemists
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Fellows of the Royal Society
Presidents of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Stockholm University alumni
Columbia University staff
United States Navy officers
Columbia University faculty
New York University faculty
People from Chobham, Surrey