Walter Weldon
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Walter Weldon FRS
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 ...
(31 October 183220 September 1885) was a 19th-century
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
industrial
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 ...
and
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
. He was President of the Society of Chemical Industry 1883/84.


Life

He was born in
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...
on 31 October 1832, the son of Reuben Weldon and his wife, Esther Fowke. Weldon was brother to Ernest J. Weldon, founder of Weldon & Wilkinson Ltd. In 1854 he began work as a
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
in London with ''
The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review and ...
'' (which was afterwards incorporated in '' The Morning Star''), and in 1860 he started a monthly magazine, ''Weldon's Register of Facts and Occurrences relating to Literature, the Sciences and the Arts'', which was later discontinued. In the 1860s he turned to industrial chemistry, described below. However, he is remembered for his pattern work. His publications in the late 1800s were through Weldon & Company, a pattern company who produced hundreds of patterns and projects for numerous types of Victorian
needlework Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...
. Around 1888, the company began to publish a series of books entitled ''Weldon's Practical Needlework'', each volume consisting of the various newsletters (one year of publications) bound together with a cloth cover and costing 2s. 6d. ''Weldon's Ladies' Journal'' (1875–1954) supplied dressmaking patterns, and was a blueprint for subsequent 'home weeklies'. In 1877 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 proposers were
Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...
, Sir
James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied ato ...
,
John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Keepe ...
and Sir
Andrew Douglas Maclagan Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan PRSE FRCPE FRCSE FCS FRSSA (17 April 1812, in Ayr – 5 April 1900, in Edinburgh) was a Scottish surgeon, toxicologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence. He served as president of 5 learned societies: the Royal ...
. In 1882 he was further elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of London 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 ...
. Weldon was interested in
parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...
, and was a
spiritualist 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 The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...
and 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 ...
.Nicol, Fraser. (1972). ''The Founders of the SPR''. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 55: 341-367. He died at Rede Hall near
Burstow Burstow is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. Its largest settlement is Smallfield. Smallfield is ENE of Gatwick Airport and the M23 motorway, southwest of Oxted and east of Horley. Crawley is a nearby ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
on 5 November 1914.


Family

Weldon married Anne Cotton in 1854. Their second son was
Walter Frank Raphael Weldon Walter Frank Raphael Weldon FRS (15 March 1860 – 13 April 1906), was an English evolutionary biologist and a founder of biometry. He was the joint founding editor of '' Biometrika'', with Francis Galton and Karl Pearson. Family Weldon was ...
, an English evolutionary
zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
and
biometrician Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...
.


Chemistry

Weldon was a successful chemist and developed the
Weldon process The Weldon process is a process developed in 1866 by Walter Weldon for recovering manganese dioxide for re-use in chlorine manufacture. Commercial operations started at the Gamble works in St. Helens in 1869. The process is described in considerab ...
to produce
chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...
by boiling
hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...
with
manganese dioxide Manganese dioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula . This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese and a component of manganese nodules. The principal use for is for dry-cell ...
. MnO2 was expensive, and Weldon created a process for its recycling by treating the manganese chloride produced with
milk of lime Limewater is the common name for a saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide. Calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, is sparsely soluble at room temperature in water (1.5 g/L at 25 °C). "Pure" (i.e. less than or fully saturated) limewater i ...
and blowing air through the mixture to form a precipitate known as
Weldon mud Walter Weldon developed a process in the chlorine production process for reuse of manganese by treating the manganese chloride with milk of lime and blowing air through the mixture to form a precipitation of manganese known as Weldon mud which w ...
which was used to generate more chlorine. Manganese dioxide reacts with hydrochloric acid to form chlorine and Manganese chloride: :\mathrm This was put into operation about 1869, and by 1875 it was being used by almost every chlorine manufacturer throughout Europe. He continued to work at the production of chlorine in connection with the processes of creating various
sodium salts Sodium salts are salts composed of a sodium cation and the conjugate base anion of some inorganic or organic acids. They can be formed by the neutralization of such acids with sodium hydroxide. Categorization Sodium salts can be categorized int ...
and became a leading authority on the subject. None of his later proposals met with equal success.


Bibliography

*''Weldon's Practical Needlework'' **Volume 1 - practical
knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...
, patchwork &
crochet Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread (yarn), thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', meaning 'hook'. Hooks can be made from ...
, stitches explained. **Volume 2 - stocking knitter, cross-stitch
embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
, crewel work, bazaar articles, knitting, crochet, smocking, appliqué work, netting,
lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
, crochet edgings, knitting edgings. **Volume 3 - lace shawls, crocheted evening bags using macramé cord (corday). **Volume 4 - knitting, crochet, Mountmellick embroidery, smocking, tatting, decorative needlework, beadwork, macramé lace. **Volume 5- knitting, Mountmellick, crochet, drawn thread work, netting. **Volume 6 - crochet, knitting, ivory embroidery, canvas embroidery, jewelled embroidery, patchwork, linen embroidery, Mountmellick embroidery, macramé lace **Volume 7 - crinkled paper work, knick-knacks, ivory embroidery, knitting, crochet, church embroidery, Mountmellick embroidery, Japanese curtain work. **Volume 8 - crochet, Hungarian embroidery, church decorations, crinkled paper work, Mountmellick embroidery, knitting, Bulgarian embroidery. **Volume 9 - plain needlework, stock knitting, Mountmellick embroidery, crinkled and crepe tissue paper work, knitting, monograms & initials. **Volume 10 - appliqué embroidery, crochet, knitting, leather work, pincushions, point lace, ribbon plaiting. **Volume 11 - bent iron work, crochet, knitting, macramé & bead work, point lace, stocking knitter,
torchon lace Torchon lace (Dutch: stropkant) is a bobbin lace that was made all over Europe. It is continuous, with the pattern made at the same time as the ground. Torchon lace is notable for being coarse and strong, as well as its simple geometric patterns and ...
. **Volume 12 - crochet & knitted waistcoats, drawn thread work, knitting, Mountmellick embroidery, smocking, stocking knitter.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weldon, Walter 1832 births 1885 deaths 19th-century British journalists 19th-century male writers English chemists English male journalists English spiritualists Fellows of the Royal Society Parapsychologists