John Jeyes (1817–1892) was a chemical manufacturer, most famous for a disinfectant liquid,

Jeyes Fluid Jeyes Fluid is a brand of disinfectant fluid for external use only. It is predominantly used for removing bacteria, while gardeners have found it effective at cleaning paths, patios, greenhouses, driveways, and drains - particularly of moss. Wit ...

. His name is also given to an award for chemistry in relation to the environment which is awarded every two years by the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

. John Jeyes was born in

Wootton, Northamptonshire Wootton is a former village about south of Northampton town centre that is now part of Northampton. Wootton is separated from Hardingstone by the Newport Pagnell Road the B526, formerly part of the A50 road. Part of Wootton is alongside the ...

, the second son of Philadelphus Jeyes (1780–1828), a retail pharmacist, and Elizabeth, née Ward, daughter of a local landowner, and baptised on 10 June 1817. Jeyes’s first venture into business came when he, his elder brother, also Philadelphus, and James Atkins, a local nurseryman, went into partnership in the early 1840s. It is not known how long this lasted but twenty years later Jeyes, by then married with six children, moved to London; in 1863 he was living in Finsbury. The 1871 census shows that he was now a manufacturing chemist, living at 100 Balaam Street, Plaistow. That year he set up the Jeyesine Oil and Paint Company Ltd., but it failed two years later. Jeyes patented his disinfectant liquid in 1877. The product was made in a factory in the grounds of his home, Richmond House, in Plaistow. He and his son Walter also established Jeyes' Sanitary Compounds Company Ltd in 1879, but the firm went into voluntary liquidation in 1884; its assets were sold the following year to a successor company of the same name.

Family

On 10 March 1846, John Jeyes married Sarah Frances Weldon at

St Mary's Church, Stamford St Mary's Church, Stamford is a parish church of the Church of England, located in Stamford, Lincolnshire, lending its name to St Mary's Hill (part of the old Great North Road) on which it stands, and which runs down to the river crossing opp ...

; they had nine children. Jeyes died at his home, 5 Windsor Road,

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...

on 12 January 1892. He was buried in the same grave as his wife in the

East London Cemetery The East London Cemetery and Crematorium are located in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham. It is owned and operated by the Dignity Funeral Group. History The cemetery was founded in 1871 and laid out in 1872 to meet the increasing deman ...

John Jeyes Award

The John Jeyes Award was founded in 1975 and is awarded every two years for chemistry in relation to the environment. The award was previously named the John Jeyes lectureship and was first awarded to

Ralph Louis Wain Ralph Louis Wain CBE FRS (29 May 1911 Hyde, Cheshire – 14 December 2000 Canterbury) was a British agricultural chemist. He read Chemistry at the University of Sheffield on scholarship, and with first class honours degree, and a Master of Scien ...

in 1976. Nominated by members of the

, the winner is chosen by the Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division Awards committee and receives £2000, a medal and a certificate. They also complete a UK lecture tour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeyes, John 1817 births 1892 deaths English chemists People from Northamptonshire 19th-century English businesspeople