Daniel Rutherford (3 November 1749 – 15 December 1819) was a Scottish physician, chemist and botanist who is known for the isolation of

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

in 1772.

Life

Rutherford was born on 3 November 1749, the son of Anne Mackay and Professor John Rutherford (1695–1779). He began college at the age of 16 at Mundell's School on the

West Bow The Grassmarket is a historic market place, street and event space in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In relation to the rest of the city it lies in a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels. Location The Grassmarket is located direct ...

close to his family home, and then studied medicine under

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was ...

and Joseph Black 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 1 ...

, graduating with a doctorate (MD) in 1772. From 1775 to 1786 he practiced as a physician in Edinburgh. In 1783 he was a joint founder 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 ...

. He was president of the

Harveian Society The Harveian Society of London, named after the physician William Harvey, is a medical society and registered charity, founded in 1831. Doctors assemble regularly at the Medical Society of London, Chandos Street, Cavendish Square to converse and di ...

in 1787. At this time he lived at Hyndford Close on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), de ...

. He was a professor of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

at the

and the 5th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh from 1786 to 1819. He was president of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

from 1796 to 1798. His pupils included

Thomas Brown of Lanfine and Waterhaughs Thomas Brown of Lanfine and Waterhaughs FRSE FFPSG (1774 – 16 March 1853) was a noted Scottish surgeon with an interest in botany, mineralogy and fossil collecting. He is best remembered for his large donation of his entire lifetime collection ...

. Around 1805 he moved from Hyndfords Close to a newly built townhouse at 20 Picardy Place at the top of

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to t ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life. He died in Edinburgh on 15 December 1819.

Family

In 1786 he married Harriet Mitchelson of Middleton. Rutherford was the maternal uncle of the novelist

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

Isolation of nitrogen

Rutherford discovered nitrogen by the isolation of the particle in 1772. When Joseph Black was studying the properties of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

, he found that a candle would not burn in it. Black turned this problem over to his student at the time, Rutherford. Rutherford kept a mouse in a space with a confined quantity of air until it died. Then, he burned a candle in the remaining air until it went out. Afterwards, he burned

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

in that, until it would not burn. Then the air was passed through a carbon dioxide absorbing

solution Solution may refer to: * Solution (chemistry), a mixture where one substance is dissolved in another * Solution (equation), in mathematics ** Numerical solution, in numerical analysis, approximate solutions within specified error bounds * Solutio ...

. The remaining component of the air did not support combustion, and a mouse could not live in it. Rutherford called the gas (which we now know would have consisted primarily of

) "noxious air" or "phlogisticated air". Rutherford reported the experiment in 1772. He and Black were convinced of the validity of the

phlogiston theory The phlogiston theory is a superseded scientific theory that postulated the existence of a fire-like element called phlogiston () contained within combustible bodies and released during combustion. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''bur ...

, so they explained their results in terms of it.

Botanical reference

References

External links

*
Biographical note at “Lectures and Papers of Professor Daniel Rutherford (1749–1819), and Diary of Mrs Harriet Rutherford”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Daniel Scottish antiquarians Scottish botanists Scottish chemists 1749 births 1819 deaths Discoverers of chemical elements Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Industrial gases Academics of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Scientists from Edinburgh People educated at James Mundell's School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 18th-century British botanists 19th-century British botanists 18th-century British chemists 19th-century British chemists 18th-century Scottish medical doctors 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 18th-century Scottish scientists 19th-century Scottish scientists Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Medical doctors from Edinburgh