Robert Angus Smith FRS (15 February 1817 – 12 May 1884) 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 th ...

, who investigated numerous

environmental issue Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on th ...

s. He is known for his research on air pollution in 1852, in the course of which he discovered what came to be known as ''

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid ...

''. He is sometimes referred to as the 'Father of Acid Rain'.Hamlin, C. (2004)
Smith, (Robert) Angus (1817–1884)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 August 2007 (subscription required)

Education and early life

Born at

Pollokshaws Pollokshaws ( sco, Powkshaws) is an area on the South side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the residential neighbourhoods of Auldhouse to the east, Eastwood and Hillpark to the south and Shawlands to the north, with the Glas ...

, Glasgow, Smith was educated at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in preparation for ministry in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

but left before graduating. He worked as a personal tutor and, accompanying a family to

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

in 1839, he stayed on in Germany to study

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 ...

supervised by

Justus von Liebig Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at t ...

, earning a PhD in 1841.

Career and research

On returning to England the same year, he again considered Holy Orders but instead was attracted to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to join the chemical laboratory of

Lyon Playfair Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair (1 May 1818 – 29 May 1898) was a British scientist and Liberal politician who was Postmaster-General from 1873 to 1874. Early life Playfair was born at Chunar, Bengal, the son of George Playfair (1782-1846) ...

at the

Royal Manchester Institution The Royal Manchester Institution (RMI) was an England, English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a ...

. Here he became involved in some of the environmental issues of the world's first industrial city (see '' History of Manchester''). Playfair left for greener pastures in 1845 and Smith worked at making a living as an independent

analytical chemist Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

. After some initial alarming experiences, Smith refused to take on

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

work which was a staple of consulting scientists of the day and which he saw as corrupt. Consequently, when the

Alkali Inspectorate The Alkali Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict c 124) was an Act (document), Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the Alkali Act 1863, an alkali inspector and four subinspectors were appointed to curb discharge into the air of hydrogen chlorid ...

was established by the Alkali Act 1863, Smith's integrity made him the natural candidate. As Queen Victoria's Inspector of Alkali Works, he was the prototype of the scientific civil servant. He held the post until his death. He is buried in the graveyard of St Paul's Church on

Kersal Moor Kersal Moor is a recreation area in Kersal, Greater Manchester, England which consists of eight hectares of moorland bounded by Moor Lane, Heathlands Road, St. Paul's Churchyard and Singleton Brook. Kersal Moor, first called Karsey or Carsal ...

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

In 1872 Smith published the book ''Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology'', which presents his studies of the chemistry of

atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. These studies include the discovery, in 1852, of acid rain in northern British cities, a consequence of the burning of coal rich in sulfur. He was conferred with Honorary Membership of the

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interes ...

in 1884. After his death his collection of about 4,000 books was acquired by the library of

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States *Owens Station, Delaware *Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota *Owens, Missouri *Owens, Ohio *Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Owens Bro ...

, Manchester. They are now in the

John Rylands University Library The University of Manchester Library is the library system and information service of the University of Manchester. The main library is on the Oxford Road campus of the university, with its entrance on Burlington Street. There are also ten other ...

, the successor of the college library.

Spiritualism

Smith with his friend

William Crookes Sir William Crookes (; 17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing t ...

, attended a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...

on 21 April 1870 in London. He sent Crookes 15 letters on

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

between April 1869 and 1871. Smith did not choose to write widely about spiritualism as he believed it might damage his scientific reputation. He was a member of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

from 1882 to 1884. After he died, 89 books on the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

were discovered in his library.Reed, Peter. (2014). ''Acid Rain and the Rise of the Environmental Chemist in Nineteenth-Century Britain: The Life and Work of Robert Angus Smith (Science, Technology and Culture, 1700–1945)''. Routledge. p. 18.

Awards and honours

Smith was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1857.

Publications

''On Sewage and Sewage Rivers''
(1855)
''Disinfectants and Disinfection''
(1869)
''Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology''
(1872)
''Chemical and Physical Researches''
(1876)
''Loch Etive and the sons of Uisnach: With Illustrations''
(1879)
''A Centenary of Science in Manchester''
(1883)

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert Angus 1817 births 1884 deaths Atmospheric chemists Atmospheric scientists Burials in Greater Manchester Fellows of the Royal Society History of Manchester Parapsychologists Scottish chemists Scottish environmentalists Scottish spiritualists Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society