Sir James Walker FRS FRSE FCS LLD (6 April 1863 – 6 May 1935) was a Scottish

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 ...

Life

He was born at Logie House, in north-west Dundee the son of James Walker of J & H Walker, jute and flax spinners and weavers, and owners of the Dura Works. His mother was Susan Hutchison Cairns. He was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...

, and, although he had passed the entrance examination for the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, he instead joined his father's company. He stayed there for three years, then entered 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 15 ...

to study sciences in 1882. He graduated with a BSc in 1885 and gained a doctorate in 1886. He then spent three years in Germany, working with Ludwig Claisen,

Adolf von Baeyer Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (; 31 October 1835 – 20 August 1917) was a German chemist who synthesised indigo and developed a nomenclature for cyclic compounds (that was subsequently extended and adopted as part of the IUPAC org ...

and

Wilhelm Ostwald Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (; 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, and Svante Arrhen ...

. Following a PhD at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in 1889, he returned to Britain, working in Edinburgh and

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

, before being appointed professor of chemistry at the

University College, Dundee 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, t ...

in 1894. In 1890 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Belle ...

, John Gibson,

Leonard Dobbin Leonard Dobbin (29 September 1762 – 19 February 1844) was an Irish Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1837. He was the eldest son of Leonard Dobbin senior, of Mount Dobbin, Tirnascobe, County Armagh and Mary Oate ...

and

Ralph Stockman Dr Ralph Stockman MD LLD (3 August 1861–27 February 1946) was a Scottish Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics at the University of Glasgow. He was an expert on iron deficiency anaemia. Life Stockman was born on 3 August 1861 at ...

. He was an active member of the Society serving many years as a Councillor and Vice President from 1916 to 1919. He won their Makdougall-Brisbane Prize for 1892-1894 and the Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize for 1928 to 1932. In 1908 he returned to Edinburgh to succeed

as professor of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. He resided at 5 Wester Coates Road.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1910 Walker's main research interest was in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistica ...

. He investigated methods of electrolysis in the synthesis of dicarboxylic acids, the dissociation constants of acids and bases, and measured

molecular weight A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

s by

freezing point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depend ...

depression. While he is personally credited with no truly major discoveries, his most important role was as a populariser of the new and controversial physical chemistry theories of Ostwald, van't Hoff and Arrhenius in the English speaking world. This he did through his 1890 translation of Ostwald's ''Grundriss der allgemeinen Chemie (Outlines of General Chemistry)'', and his own textbook ''Introduction to Physical Chemistry'' (1899), which became a set text in many British universities. Walker was elected a

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 ...

in 1900, and was awarded a

Davy Medal The Davy Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "for an outstandingly important recent discovery in any branch of chemistry". Named after Humphry Davy, the medal is awarded with a monetary gift, initially of £1000 (currently £2000). H ...

in 1926. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he oversaw the production of explosives on a remote site at Roslin south of Edinburgh. He was knighted by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

in 1921. He was President of the

Chemical Society 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. ...

1921/23. He retired in 1928 and died in Edinburgh on 6 May 1935.

Family

In 1897 he married Annie Purcell Sedgwick (1871-1950), also a chemist although she gave up research in 1905. They were parents to the geologist Frederick Walker FRSE (1898-1968).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, James 1863 births 1935 deaths Scottish physical chemists People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Dundee Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scientists from Dundee