Campbell Morfit
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Campbell Morfit (19 November 1820 – 8 December 1897) was a distinguished chemist from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, co-editor with James Curtis Booth of the ''Encyclopedia of Chemistry'' (1850).


Life

Morfit was born in
Herculaneum, Missouri Herculaneum is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States, and is a suburb of St. Louis. The population was 4,273 at the 2020 United States Census. The City of Herculaneum was the first county seat of Jefferson County from January 1, ...
on 19 November 1820 and was educated at the
Columbian University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presid ...
in
Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) Georgetown is a historic neighborhood, and commercial and entertainment district located in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 in the Province of Maryland, the port of Georgetown predated the establishm ...
. Before graduating, he began to study chemistry in the laboratory of James C. Booth in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. He assisted Booth in development of a new method of refining gold, and in 1850 was assigned a share of the patent rights. In 1853 he established a laboratory at Pikesville Arsenal in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, where he investigated gun metal, co-authoring a report with James Booth on the subject for the United States Ordnance department. He was the first teacher at the chemical department of the
Maryland Institute The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the oldest art colleges in the ...
, and from 1854 to 1858 was professor of applied chemistry there. He then moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, where he continued to practice chemistry until emigrating to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1861. Morfit was a fellow 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. ...
and 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 ...
. His principal works were ''Applied Chemistry in the Manufacture of Soaps and Candles'' (1847); ''Chemical and Pharmaceutical Manipulations'' (1848); ''A Report of the Progress of the Chemical Arts,'' prepared with Booth for the Smithsonian institution (1851); ''Perfumery, its Manufacture and Use'' (1852-5); ''Oleic Soaps'' (1871); and ''Mineral Phosphates'' (1873). He and James Booth were co-editors of the ''Encyclopedia of Chemistry'', and he wrote many other books and articles. Morfit died in London on 8 December 1897.


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morfit, Campbell 1820 births 1897 deaths American chemists People from Herculaneum, Missouri Chemists from Missouri