George Frederick Barker (July 14, 1835, in Charlestown, MassachusettsBARKER, George Frederick
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

'', 1901-1902 edition; via

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– May 24, 1910) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

. He graduated from the Yale Scientific School in 1858. He was successively chemical assistant in

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

in 1858–1859 and 1860–1861,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of chemistry and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

in Wheaton (Ill.) College. In 1864 he became the Professor of Natural Science at the Western University of Pennsylvania, now known as the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, where he undertook experiments to produce electric light by passing the current through a resisting filament which he claimed was "the first steady electric light generated in

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, if not in the country". He subsequently went to Yale as a professor of

physiological chemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology a ...

and

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating e ...

, and later was a professor of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at the

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, in 1879–1900, when he became emeritus professor. He served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1879; president of the

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; vice-president of the

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(elected 1873) for 10 years; a member of the United States Electrical Commission; and for several years an associate editor of the '' American Journal of Science''. He lectured in many cities and wrote a ''Text-Book of Elementary Chemistry'' (1870); a ''Physics'' (1892); and more. In a history of the University of Pennsylvania published upon its bicentennial in 1940, the historian

Edward Potts Cheyney Edward Potts Cheyney, A.M., LL.D. (1861–1947) was an American historical and economic writer, born at Wallingford, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1883. He visited German universities and studied at the British ...

recalled the piecemeal entry of women into the university, initially as auditors only, and noted, as Cheyney himself witnessed, that "in the lectures on physics in 1881 two young women sat meekly in a distant corner while Professor Barker was describing the new inventions of the electric light and telephone."

References

External links

*
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, George Frederick 1835 births 1910 deaths Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni Harvard Medical School faculty University of Pittsburgh faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty American science writers American chemists Wheaton College (Illinois) faculty Members of the American Philosophical Society North Yarmouth Academy alumni