Vero Charles Driffield (7 May 1848 – 14 November 1915) was an English chemical

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the lim ...

who also became involved in

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...

ic research. Driffield was educated at Liverpool Collegiate and Sandbach Grammar School. He also attended a private school in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

where he came into contact with a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internationa ...

master called Dr Knecht. Leaving school he became an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to a

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

in Southport but then decided to study engineering. In 1871 he became an engineer at the Gaskell–

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chu ...

Works in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form t ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

where the chief chemist was the Swiss

Ferdinand Hurter Ferdinand Hurter (15 March 1844 – 12 March 1898) was a Swiss industrial chemist who settled in England. He also carried out research into photography. Early life Ferdinand Hurter was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, the only son of Tobi ...

. Through a common interest in music they became friends and around 1876 Driffield persuaded Hurter to take up photography as a hobby. Hurter applied his scientific mind to photography and together they carried out important research into the subject. They published eight papers and in 1898 they were jointly awarded the Progress Medal of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

.Royal Photographic Society. ''Progress medal''. Web-page listing people, who have received this award since 1878 (): "Instituted in 1878, this medal is awarded in recognition of any invention, research, publication or other contribution which has resulted in an important advance in the scientific or technological development of photography or imaging in the widest sense. This award also carries with it an Honorary Fellowship of The Society. ��1898

and Vero C Driffield �� Driffield died in 1915 and is buried in the churchyard of Farnworth church near his former collaborator Ferdinand Hurter.Hardie, p179

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