William Herapath (1796–1868) was an English analytical chemist and political reformer.

Life

Herapath was born in

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 ...

, where father was a maltster in St. Philip's parish, and after his death succeeded to the business. He gave it up in order to study chemistry. He was one of the founders of the

Chemical Society of London 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. ...

, of which he was a fellow, and also of the

Bristol Medical School Bristol Medical School was originally a medical institution in England which existed from 1833 to 1893. It later became amalgamated with University College, Bristol the predecessor institution to the University of Bristol. History It was built ...

, of which he became professor of chemistry and toxicology on its opening in 1828. On 13 April 1835, at the trial of a woman named Burdock for poisoning by arsenic her lodger, Mrs. Clara Ann Smith, at Bristol, Herapath was expert witness for the prosecution, and made a reputation by his analysis. He was then retained in other criminal and civil trials, and was frequently opposed to

Alfred Swaine Taylor Alfred Swaine Taylor (11 December 1806 in Northfleet, Kent – 27 May 1880 in London) was an English toxicologist and medical writer, who has been called the "father of British forensic medicine". He was also an early experimenter in photography ...

. In the case of William Palmer of Rugeley in 1856, when he was a witness for the defence, he was severely handled by Alexander Cockburn, who denounced him as a "thoroughgoing partisan". His other famous cases include an alleged case of infanticide in Bath by a Bristol lawyer and his mistress, known by the pseudonyms Mr & Mrs Slater. In politics Herapath was a radical at the time of the

Great Reform Bill The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

. He was president of the Bristol Political Union, and acted against the rioting of October 1831. On the passing of the Municipal Reform Act, he became a member of the town council, and then a justice of the peace. His radicalism faded, and he lost his seat on the council. Herapath died on 13 February 1868.

Works

Herapath wrote "instructions" for Clifton Cleve's ''Hints on Domestic Sanitation'', London, 1848; and ''A Few Words on the Bristol and Clifton Hot-wells. Together with an Analysis of the Spa'', Bristol (1854?), which was later part of the ''Handbook for Visitors to the Bristol and Clifton Hotwells'', Bristol (1865?).

Family

William Bird Herapath Dr William Bird Herapath FRS FRSE FRCS (28 February 1820 – 12 October 1868) was an English surgeon and chemist known for his discovery of Herapathite. Life He was born in Bristol, the eldest son of William Herapath, Professor of Chemistry a ...

the toxicologist was his eldest son. The celebrated English physicist

John Herapath John Herapath (30 May 1790 – 24 February 1868) was an English physicist who gave a partial account of the kinetic theory of gases in 1820 though it was neglected by the scientific community at the time. He was the cousin of William Herapath, t ...

(30 May 1790 – 24 February 1868) was his cousin.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Herapath, William 1796 births 1868 deaths 19th-century British chemists Scientists from Bristol