William Inglis Clark FRSE (4 June 1855 – 21 December 1932) was a Scottish pharmaceutical chemist. He is also remembered as a keen amateur mountaineer. Clark invented a neutral encapsulation of foul-tasting medicines. As a chemist and keen amateur photographer he also invented an early colour photographic process in 1909, his subject matter usually stemming from his love of mountains. His early colour photographs appeared from 1909 in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal.

Life

He was born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

in India on 4 June 1855 to Margaret Grace Inglis and Reverend Thomas Grieve Clark, minister of the Scots Church. His mother died of cholera in 1856 at which point he returned to Britain with his older brother, Thomas S Inglis Clark. He was then educated at the Royal High School in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. He studied chemistry 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 ...

and was the first people to receive a doctorate (DSc) before the age of 21. In 1871 he received a senior post in the firm of Duncan Flockhart & Co. He rose to be a full partner in the firm. At the end of the 19th century he is recorded as being the first owner of a motor-car in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, an

Arrol-Johnston Arrol-Johnston (later known as Arrol-Aster) was an early Scottish manufacturer of automobiles, which operated from 1895 to 1931 and produced the first automobile manufactured in Britain. The company also developed the world's first "off-road" v ...

dog-cart. This resulted in his having the first Scottish registration plate S1. He later sold this number to Lord Kingsburgh, obtaining the number S2 for his own use. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1910. 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 Belle ...

, Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour and

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

. He died at home, 1 Belgrave Place in

on 21 December 1932. He is buried in the south-west section of Liberton Cemetery. The stone lies just east of the central roundel. It has been vandalised and is currently (2015) lying on its back.

Mountaineering

Clark climbed

Goat Fell Goat Fell (marked as Goatfell by the Ordnance Survey; Scottish Gaelic: Gaoda Bheinn) is the highest point on the Isle of Arran. At 874 metres (2,867 ft), it is one of four Corbetts on the island. The mountain, along with nearby Brodic ...

on Arran aged only nine. He seems to have been inspired by his mountaineering uncle, Charles Simson Clark. In one early climb on

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...

he met fellow mountaineers, Prof Matthew Forster Heddle and the artist Colin Philp. He joined the

Scottish Mountaineering Club Established in 1889, the Scottish Mountaineering Club is the leading club for climbing and mountaineering in Scotland. History The Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) was formed in 1889 as Scotland’s national club and the initial membership of ...

in 1895. He served as their Secretary for 11 years, and was their President from 1914 to 1919. In 1902 he is credited with the second direct ascent of Crowberry Ridge in the Highlands, called "the hardest rock climb in Scotland". His wife Jane Inglis Clark was also a competent climber and the first President of the Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club.

Family

He married Jane Isabella Shannon in 1884 and they had two children: Mabel and Charles, both of whom were also skilled mountaineers. Charles was killed in 1918 in the closing months of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. As a memorial the Clarks funded the

Charles Inglis Clark Memorial Hut Jane Inglis Clark (1859/1860–1950) was a Scottish mountaineer and rock climber. She co-founded the Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club with Lucy Smith and Mabel Clark in 1908. Life Inglis Clark was born Jane Isabella Shannon to Isabella Struthers W ...

, a bothy on

. A film of its opening was made on 1 April 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, William Inglis 1855 births 1932 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British inventors