John McGarvie Smith (8 February 1844 – 6 September 1918) was an Australian

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learning about bacteria, ...

and benefactor.

Biography

Smith was born in Sydney, the eldest surviving of thirteen children of Scots parents David Milne Smith, tailor of Old South Head Road, and his wife Isabella, ''née'' Young. Baptised as John Smith by the Rev. John McGarvie, Smith added 'McGarvie' to his name. At 13 years of age Smith was apprenticed and learned the trade of

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

and

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabricat ...

; by 1867 he opened a business for himself at Sydney which he continued for about 20 years. Smith took up photography, which led to his studying chemistry at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

from 1867, and later, metallurgy. Smith began work an assayer and metallurgist in the mid-1880s. He developed improvements in the treatment of refractory ores and his advice was of great value in dealing with problems of this kind at the Sunny Corner mining-field and at Broken Hill. At Mount Morgan,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, he did important work in connection with the chlorine process of extracting gold. Smith took up the study of bacteriology at the suggestion of his friend James Frederick Elliott, and did a large amount of research endeavouring to find a vaccine against the effects of snake bite. He collected a large number of venomous snakes which he handled himself when extracting their venom. Smith eventually came to the conclusion that it was bacteriologically impossible to inoculate against snake-bite, but while carrying out his investigations he collected a large amount of information about the relative virulence of the venom of Australian snakes. His most important research was in connection with anthrax. Louis Pasteur had discovered a vaccine, which, however, would not keep, and Smith after long experimenting found an effective vaccine which would keep for an indefinite period. This he treated as a business secret for many years, but a few months before his death he handed the formula to representatives of the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

government. Smith also gave £10,000 to endow a 'McGarvie Smith Institute'. While making his investigations Smith travelled extensively in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and visited many laboratories. He was a man of great determination and remarkable personality. All his life he had a passion for work, but he spared time in his youth to become a good rifle shot. Smith married Adelaide Elizabeth ''née'' Hoalls on 7 July 1877, the widow of

Daniel Deniehy Daniel Henry Deniehy (18 August 1828 – 22 October 1865) was an Australian journalist, orator and politician; and early advocate of democracy in colonial New South Wales. Early life Deniehy was born in Sydney, the son of Henry and Mary Denie ...

, who died in 1908. Smith died at his home in the Sydney suburb of

Woollahra Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woolla ...

of influenza. He was buried at the

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, 1878) and P. Beddie (cemetery office, 1915), ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John Mcgarvie 1844 births 1918 deaths Australian scientists Woollahra, New South Wales John McGarvie Smith (scientist) Deaths from pneumonia in Australia