William James Russell (1830–1909) was an English chemist and

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

Life

Born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

on 20 May 1830, he was son of Thomas Rougher Russell (1775–1851), a banker there, and grandson of William Russell of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

; his mother was Mary Skey (1790–1877), fourth daughter of Col. James Skey. Educated at schools at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and Birmingham, he entered

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, in 1847, studying chemistry under Thomas Graham and

Alexander William Williamson Prof Alexander William Williamson FRS FRSE PCS MRIA (1 May 18246 May 1904) was an English chemist. He is best known today for the Williamson ether synthesis. Life Williamson was born in 1824 in Wandsworth, London, the second of three child ...

. For two years a demonstrator at

Owens College, Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

under

Edward Frankland Sir Edward Frankland, (18 January 18259 August 1899) was an English chemist. He was one of the originators of organometallic chemistry and introduced the concept of combining power or valence. An expert in water quality and analysis, he was a ...

(1851–3), Russell moved on to

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, becoming a pupil of

Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bu ...

and graduating Ph.D. in 1855. In 1857 he became assistant to Williamson and carried out researches on the analysis of gases. From 1868 to 1870 he was lecturer in chemistry at the medical school of St. Mary's Hospital, London, and subsequently (1870–97) held a similar post at

St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

. He was (1860–70) professor of natural philosophy at

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

, and in later life was chairman of its council. A long-time member 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. ...

, Russell became its president 1889–91. Elected Fellow of the Royal Society on 6 June 1872, he was Bakerian lecturer in 1898. One of the founders of the

Institute of Chemistry The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation. Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland (ICGBI), its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its aim ...

, he was president 1894–7. He died at Ringwood on 12 November 1909.

Works

The results of Russell's work on gases were communicated to the Chemical Society, and in Henry Watts's ''Dictionary of Chemistry'' he wrote the article on "Gas Analysis" (1868). He made an extended study of the formation of London's

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

. Other investigations were the determination of the atomic weights of

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...

and

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

; memoirs on

absorption spectra Absorption spectroscopy refers to spectroscopic techniques that measure the absorption of radiation, as a function of frequency or wavelength, due to its interaction with a sample. The sample absorbs energy, i.e., photons, from the radiating ...

; and papers on the action of wood and other substances on a photographic plate in darkness.

Family

Russell married in 1862 Fanny, daughter of Abraham Follett Osler. They had a son, and a daughter Agnes Mary who married Alexander Scott.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, William James 1830 births 1909 deaths English chemists Fellows of the Royal Society People from Gloucester