Frederick Settle Barff (6 October 18221823 in his obituary. – 11 August 1886) was an English

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 t ...

, ecclesiastical decorator, and stained glass manufacturer, much interested in theology. Peile, J. (1913) ''Biographical Register of Christ's College, 1505–1905 and of the earlier foundation, God's House, 1448–1505'' Vol II 1666–1905
p.475.
Cambridge University Press. Retrieved June 2011 He is best known as a chemist, having invented several important preservation methods for a range of materials, including iron, stone, wood and foodstuffs. Several of his stained glass windows still survive throughout Ireland and the north of England. A portrait photograph of Barff appears in ''The History of St Stanislaus College, Beaumont'', published in 1911.

Early life

Born in Hackney, London, the son of a doctor, Barff was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he earned a BA in 1844, followed by an MA in 1847. After graduating, he was ordained at

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

and started work as an Anglican curate in Hull. He also served as curate of

St Nicholas' Church, Leicester St Nicholas Church is a Church of England parish church, and the oldest place of worship in Leicester, England. Location It is situated next to the Jewry Wall, a remnant of Roman masonry. To the east is the site of the Roman forum. The ch ...

, before, in 1852, converting to Catholicism.

Ecclesiastical decorator

By the mid-1850s, Barff established Mssrs. F.S. Barff & Co., an ecclesiastical decorating company, in Liverpool.

North England

He supervised the interior decoration of St Patrick's Church, Liverpool and painted the frescoes at Stonyhurst College. The firm also decorated the churches of St Wilfrid's, Preston and St Mary's, Chelsea.''The Tablet'', 13 October 1854(or 1855), 647 quoted in ''Irish Architectural Archive

Ireland

By 1858 Barff's company had moved to Dublin, possibly influenced by his contemporary and fellow convert John Hungerford Pollen, where most of the work was undertaken for Catholic churches. Works executed in Ireland:Irish Architectural Archive. ''Dictionary of Irish Architects, 1720–1940''
Barff, Frederick Settle
/ref> During this period, Barff gave a lecture on '' Decorative Art'' to the Dublin Mechanics InstitutePresented in 1860. and successfully patented several processes associated with his work, one of which won ''honourable mention'' during the

1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...

Patents

The company continued to operate until 1864, when it went bankrupt, at which time Barff returned to England.

Chemist

Teaching

On his return, Barff became a teacher at

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eto ...

, a Jesuit school in Windsor, before moving to

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

as assistant professor of chemistry. He later became professor of chemistry at the Royal Academy of Arts for eight years and also at the

Catholic University College, Kensington {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Catholic University College was a short-lived nineteenth-century institution in Kensington, London. On 21 November 1873, Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster, announced that the Roman Catholic Bishop ...

, a position for which he was nominated by Cardinal Manning, as well as at the Beaumont College. He was made a Fellow of the

Chemical Society 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. ...

in 1867. Barff acted as ''Examiner in Chemistry'' for the

Natural science tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos (NST) is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, w ...

at Cambridge University,''Popular Science''. Jan 1887. Vol. 30, No. 19
p.432.
ISSN 0161-7370 Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved June 2011 a role he was first awarded in 1873.

Society of Arts lectures

Barff delivered three series of Cantor Lectures to the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

: in 1870, on artistic colours and

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

s; in 1872, on the treatment of carbon compounds for heating and lighting purposes; and a further series on ''Silicates, Silicides, Glass, and Glass Painting''. He also delivered the juvenile lectures, for 1878, on the subject of ''Coal and its Compounds''. Barff was awarded two Art Society's medals: one for a paper on ''

Zinc White Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white powder that is insoluble in water. ZnO is used as an additive in numerous materials and products including cosmetics, food supplements, rubbers, plastics, ceramics, glass, cement ...

as Paint, and the Treatment of Iron for the Prevention of Corrosion'' and the other for his paper on '' A New Antiseptic Compound'', the latter of which he presented to the society in March 1882.

Published works

* ''An Introduction to scientific chemistry'', 1869. * ''An introduction to scientific chemistry: designed for the use of schools'', 1869 * ''Elementary chemistry'', 1875.

Society of Arts publications

* ''On silicates, silicides, glass and glass painting'', 1872 * ''Carbon & certain compounds of carbon, treated principally in reference to heating and illuminating purposes'' 1874 * ''The treatment of iron for the prevention of corrosion'', 1877

Design and inventions

Frederick Settle Barff Caricature by Sambourne

Barff is most widely remembered for his invention of a method of rust proofing

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

, named after him. The method used superheated steam to form a layer of tri-iron tetroxide(Fe₃O₄),Daintith, John (2004) ''The Facts on File dictionary of inorganic chemistry'
p.21.
Infobase Publishing. . Retrieved June 2011 which proved much cheaper than traditional

galvanisation Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerged ...

. The method was subsequently improved by George Bower, after which the process became known as the Bower–Barff process. The Bower-Barff Rustless Iron Co. had works in Southwark and New York, the latter supplying cast-iron for many of the city's landmark buildings. He also created an

antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

compound, Boro glycerine, primarily for the preservation of meats but which subsequently found many medical uses. It is still used in some parts of the world as an oral antiseptic in the treatment of mouth ulcers. A caricature of Barff, contemplating a barrel of boro glycerine, appeared in an 1882 edition of ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' as No.84 of the '' Fancy Portraits'' series. Barff was an early exponent of the use of

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

s as fuel, starting ''Sim & Barff's Patent Mineral Oil Steam Fuel Company'', for the purpose of developing heating, power and lighting systems which could operate on liquid hydrocarbons. At a time when experiments in the field appeared to show little promise of success, Barff believed that

...these oils are doubtless destined to form the marine steam fuel of the future.

Barff's design experiments to remove noxious elements from the exhaust products of combustion in locomotives and similar ''furnaces'', a precursor to the

catalytic converter A catalytic converter is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox chemic ...

, were met with some ridicule as the weight of reagents needed were almost equal to the weight of fuel burned.

Patents

Death

Barff died of complications associated with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

at Buckingham,''The Academy and literature'' Volume 30 (1886) and was buried with his wife Margaretta in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barff, Frederick Settle 1822 births 1866 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English Roman Catholics English Christians English inventors 19th-century British chemists Writers from London Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Converts to Roman Catholicism