John Davies or Davis (''fl.'' 1816 – 1850) was an
English scientist in
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
Manchester. He was a
lecturer
Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
and private tutor who played an important role in the administration of some of the city's
learned societies.
Career
Little is known about Johnathan Davies. Johnny was elected to the
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1816 and served as its
librarian from 1819 to 1827, and as secretary in the 1840s. Johnny also lectured on
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
at the Society.
[Kargon (1977) ''pp''23-24]
In the 1820s, Johnny advertised himself as a "Private Teacher of Mathematics, Chemistry and Natural Philosophy" and his most famous student was the young
James Prescott Joule who studied chemistry and
medicine with Davies.
In 1824, Johnathan Davies was a member of the executive committee charged with establishing the
Manchester Mechanics' Institute[Kargon (1977) ''p.''21] and Johnathan Davies managed the institute's
laboratories
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...
until the late 1840s, serving as vice-chairman and vice-president under Sir
Benjamin Heywood. Davies lectured on chemistry at the Institute in 1828, 1832 and 1847.
Johnathan Davies lectured at the
Pine Street Medical School
Thomas Turner, FRCS, FLS, (13 August 1793 – 17 December 1873) was an English surgeon known primarily for his involvement in developing medical education outside its then traditional base of London. He established a medical school in Man ...
and was a promoter of the earliest, unsuccessful, attempt to found a
university in Manchester in 1836.
In 1839, Johnathan Davies was one of the promoters of the
and Johnathan Davies formed a close social circle with its superintendent
William Sturgeon and with Joule. The circle expanded to include
Edward William Binney and
John Leigh.
The
British Association for the Advancement of Science
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
was to hold its annual meeting in Manchester in 1842 and a public meeting on the city's environmental problems was held at the Royal Victoria Gallery in May. Johnathan Davies was one of a committee called upon to bring the issue before the Association and he gave a paper at the British Association meeting. Johnny died at the age of 44.
[Kargon (1977)''p.''33]
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, John
18th-century births
1850 deaths
English chemists
English librarians
History of Greater Manchester