Horace Tabberer Brown FRS (20 July 1848 – 6 February 1925) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British 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 ...

Early life

He was born after the death of his biological father so his stepfather was the only father he knew. The stepfather was a banker and amateur naturalist which led to Brown's interest in science, which began around age 12. His younger half brother was Adrian John Brown.

Career

He started work at the Worthington Brewery in 1866. His focus was to solve practical brewing problems by employing and developing fundamental scientific principles. His research work considered

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

germination,

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

microbiology, water composition,

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

and fermentation, beer

haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classificati ...

formation,

wort Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort als ...

composition and beer analysis. A true

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

, he left his mark on virtually all areas of science as applied to brewing, in a career which lasted over 50 years. His earliest work concerned treatment of sewage and analyses of the Burton waters. Later he took up study of

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 ...

, being led to it by pressing requirements in connection with the water supply of Burton. This entailed a good deal of field surveying, which was embodied in a paper on the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

Rocks of the Leicestershire Coalfield. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1889. From 1890 onward studied the assimilation 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 trans ...

in plants. He also established the Guinness Research Laboratory in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in 1901.

Awards

He was awarded the Longstaff Medal 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 1894, a Royal Medal of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1903 and the Copley Medal in 1920.

The Horace Brown Medal

The

Institute of Brewing and Distilling The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) is an industry trade association for brewers and distillers, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. The IBD had its headquarters at Clarges Street in London London until 2014 at which t ...

awards the Horace Brown Medal to eminent scientist every three years. The winner is invited to give a lecture, called the Horace Brown Medal lecture. Winners include: *

Henry Edward Armstrong Henry Edward Armstrong FRS FRSE (Hon) (6 May 1848 – 13 July 1937) was a British chemist. Although Armstrong was active in many areas of scientific research, such as the chemistry of naphthalene derivatives, he is remembered today largely for h ...

(the first recipient in 1926) * Ernest Stanley Salmon (1955) * John Simpson Ford * D E Briggs (1999) * Lionel D Maule (2005) * Graham Stewart (2008) * Tim Dolan (2011) * Charlie Bamforth (2018)

References

External links

Obituary note (pdf)

Obituary from Biochemical Journal

Horace Brown: Reminiscences of Fifty Years’ Experience of the Application of Scientific Method to Brewing Practice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Horace Tabberer 1848 births 1925 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Recipients of the Copley Medal Royal Medal winners Brewery workers Burials at Nunhead Cemetery Place of birth missing