John Joseph Griffin (1802 – 9 June 1877) was an English chemist and publisher.
Life
Griffin was born in 1802 in Shoreditch, London, the son of a bookseller and publisher. The family moved to Glasgow when he was young. In present-day his family members still live in, Although some are spread out in Yorkshire and Grimsby, England, and he studied at the
Andersonian Institution. He also received training in chemistry at Paris and at Heidelberg.
In 1832 he married Mary Ann Holder, with whom he had twelve children, including William Griffin,
FCS, and Charles Griffin,
FSA. Griffin died at his residence, Park Road,
Haverstock Hill
Haverstock is an area of the London Borough of Camden: specifically the east of Belsize Park, north of Chalk Farm and west of Kentish Town. It is centred on Queens Crescent and Malden Road. Gospel Oak is to the north, Camden Town to the south. ...
, on 9 June 1877.
Work
Griffin commenced business in Glasgow as a bookseller, publisher, and dealer in chemical apparatus, in partnership with his eldest brother. While still a young man he published a translation of
Heinrich Rose
Heinrich Rose (6 August 1795 – 27 January 1864) was a German mineralogist and analytical chemist. He was the brother of the mineralogist Gustav Rose and a son of Valentin Rose.
Rose's early works on phosphorescence were noted in the Quarte ...
's ''Handbuch der analytischen Chemie''. Griffin also partly edited the ''
Encyclopædia Metropolitana
''The Encyclopædia Metropolitana'' was an encyclopedic work published in London, from 1817 to 1845, by part publication. In all it came to quarto, 30 vols., having been issued in 59 parts (22,426 pages, 565 plates).
Origins
Initially the proje ...
'', of which his firm were the publishers.
In 1852 the partnership was dissolved, with the publishing branch being continued by his nephew (as Charles Griffin & Co.) and J. J. Griffin establishing a firm of chemical apparatus dealers (J. J. Griffin & Sons).
By the 1860s this company had established a shop on Bunhill Row and later
Long Acre
Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and la ...
in London, selling both self-made and imported equipment. Through a series of mergers the company was later to develop into the major apparatus supplier
Griffin & George
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
.
Griffin devised many new forms of chemical apparatus, including the common style of
beaker which sometimes bears his name,
and did much in introducing scientific methods into commercial processes.
He was earnest in his attempts to popularise the study of chemistry, and in 1823 published his book ''Chemical Recreations: a popular manual of experimental chemistry'', which was highly successful and went through several editions.
Other books he authored include:
* ''Treatise on the Blow-pipe''
* ''System of Crystallography'' (1841)
* ''The Radical Theory in Chemistry'' (1858)
* ''Centigrade Testing as applied to the Arts''
* ''The Chemical Testing of Wines and Spirits'' (1866 and 1872)
* ''Chemical Handicraft'' (1866 and 1877)
Griffin assisted in the foundation 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.
...
in 1840,
and also helped to revive the
Glasgow Philosophical Society
The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow is a learned society established in 1802 "''for the improvement of the Arts and Sciences''" in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It runs a programme of lectures, starting its 220th Series in October 2021. ...
.
Nine of Griffin's papers appeared in various scientific periodicals. Of these the first was ''On a New Method of Crystallographic Notation;'' ''Report British Association'', 1840, p. 88; and the last ''A Description of a Patent Blast Gas Furnace'', ''Chemical News'', 1860, pp. 27, 40.
References
;Attribution
Further reading
* Brian Gee and William H. Brock, "The Case of John Joseph Griffin: from artisan-chemist and author-instructor to business-leader" ''Ambix'' 38 (1991)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, John Joseph
19th-century British chemists
1802 births
1877 deaths
English publishers (people)
19th-century English businesspeople