William Gregory (chemist)
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William Gregory FRCPE
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
FCS (25 December 1803 – 24 April 1858) was a Scottish physician and
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 ...
. He studied under and translated some of the works of
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 ...
, the German chemist. Gregory also had interests in
mesmerism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...
and
phrenology Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...
.


Life

Gregory was the fourth son of Isabella MacLeod and James Gregory, and was born at 2 St Andrew Square in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, (since demolished). After a medical education he graduated at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in 1828, and moved into chemistry, studying at the University of Geissen. In 1831 he introduced a process for making the "muriate of morphia", which came into general use. "Gregory's salt" in terms of modern chemistry was a mixture of
morphine hydrochloride Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. There ...
and codeine hydrochloride, obtained from
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
by use of
calcium chloride Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water. It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with calcium hydroxide. Ca ...
. In the 1830s he is recorded as living in his father's townhouse with his brothers at 10 Ainslie Place on the Moray Estate in the western New Town of Edinburgh. In 1832 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
, his proposer being
Robert Christison Sir Robert Christison, 1st Baronet, (18 July 1797 – 27 January 1882) was a Scottish toxicologist and physician who served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1838–40 and 1846-8) and as president of the British ...
, and served as the Society's Secretary from 1844 to 1858. After studying for some time on the continent he established himself as an extra-academical lecturer on chemistry at Edinburgh. He was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the
Andersonian University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...
, Glasgow, and then at the Dublin Medical School, and in 1839 was appointed professor of medicine and chemistry in
King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...
. In 1844 he was elected to the chair of chemistry at Edinburgh in succession to his old teacher
Thomas Charles Hope Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a British physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at ...
. Andrew Fyfe filled his post in Aberdeen having unsuccessfully also contested the Edinburgh chair.ODNB: Andew Fyfe He was a successful expository lecturer, but in his later years suffered much from a disabling disease. Gregory was interested in
animal magnetism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...
and mesmerism. He died at his home on Princes Street on 24 April 1858, leaving a widow and one son. He is buried in
Canongate Kirkyard The Canongate Kirkyard ( en, Churchyard) stands around Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. The churchyard was used for burials from the late 1680s until the mid-20th century. The most celebrated burials at the kirkyard are ...
on the
Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...
. He shares the grave with his siblings, adjacent to his parents. It lies in the south-west corner of the graveyard, to the right hand side of
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
's grave.


Works

Gregory was a pupil of
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 ...
at
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 ...
, and translated and edited several of his works. His own chemical works gave prominence to
organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...
. A list of forty chemical papers by him was given in the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
's ''Catalogue of Scientific Papers''. Restricted to a sedentary life, he wrote a number of papers on
diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising sev ...
s. His books were: * ''Outlines of Chemistry'', 1845; 2nd edition, 1847; divided subsequently into two volumes, ''The Handbook of Inorganic'' and ''Organic Chemistry'' respectively, 1853; the latter was issued in Germany, edited by Theodor Gerding, Brunswick, 1854. * ''Letters to a Candid Inquirer on Animal Magnetism'', 1851. Besides editing English editions of Liebig's ''Animal Chemistry'', ''Chemistry in its Applications to Agriculture and Physiology'', ''Familiar Letters on Chemistry'', ''Instructions for Chemical Analysis of Organic Bodies'', ''Agricultural Chemistry'', ''Chemistry of Food'', and ''Researches on the Motion of the Juices in the Animal Body'', Gregory translated and edited
Karl Reichenbach Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach (full name: Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach; February 12, 1788January 1869) was a German chemist, geologist, metallurgist, naturalist, industrialist and philosopher, and a member of the Prussian Academy of Scienc ...
's ''Researches on Magnetism, Electricity, Heat, &c., in their relation to Vital Force'', 1850. He also, with Liebig, edited Edward Turner's ''Elements of Chemistry''.


References

Attribution: *


Further reading

* * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, William 1803 births 1858 deaths Scottish chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish translators German–English translators 19th-century British translators Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Chemical Society Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard Scientists from Edinburgh