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Chemical Society

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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.[1] Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation.

History

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One of the aims of the Chemical Society was to hold meetings for "the communication and discussion of discoveries and observations, an account of which shall be published by the Society". In 1847, its importance was recognized by a Royal Charter, which added to its role in the advancement of science, the development of chemical applications in industry. Now because of the "marriage of science and industry heralded the creation of London's Royal College of Chemistry,"[2] lead to the increasing role of the Chemistry Society in London's Chemical industry. Its members included eminent chemists from overseas including August Wilhelm von Hofmann, who became its president in 1861. Membership was open to all those interested in chemistry, but fellowship was restricted to men only.

In 1904, Edith Humphrey, thought to be the first British woman to gain a doctorate in chemistry (at the University of Zurich), was one of nineteen women chemists to petition the Chemical Society for admission of women to fellowship. This was eventually granted in 1919, and Humphrey was subsequently elected to fellowship.[3]

The Chemical Society of London succeeded where a number of previous chemical associations - the Lunar Society's London branch chemical society of the 1780s, the Animal Chemical Club of 1805, the London Chemical Society of 1824 - failed. Many of these societies mentioned built the basis on which the Chemical Society of London was founded.[4] One assertion of a cause of success of the Chemical Society of London is that it was, unlike its forerunners, a "fruitful amalgamation of the technological and academic chemist".[5]

The early days of the society came with some shaky upbringings. Among the artisan class, the magazine The Chemist, written by John Knight and Henry Lacey, had started to get some traction. It falsely mentioned that the 1824 chemical society was attempting to gather an educated upper and middle class group of chemists and philosophers. The writers of The Chemist maintained a very practical and anti-theoretical bias, as they have lashed out at the time wasted by academic chemists as they researched atomic weight distributions. This led to correspondents and proponents to The Chemist advising that membership for The Chemical Society to be limited to 20. The thought of this being that the society would take a more experimental system as opposed to the previously disliked theoretical system. Later, the official launch of the "London Chemistry Society" had started with the new promise of "the study of chemistry and all its branches", with The Chemist working along side with them. Despite its quick upbringing, the Chemical Society of 1824 did not last long and would soon disband, but would eventually come back in 1841.[6]

Robert Warington had an upbringing in chemistry that ultimately led to the creation of the Chemical Society of London. Warrington had started making a name for himself in the chemistry world, having close ties with Liebig and Faraday. Additionally, after working for 7 years in a brewery, he departed 2 years later, during which, he began paving the way for the founding of a Chemical Society in London. Using his connections that he made throughout his professional career to reach out to numerous chemists to create the first meeting of the official chemical Society of London (March 30th, 1841). By this meeting they had acquired seventy-seven men as new fellows. The society used its scholarly background to display its reputation and stature and grow its connections to elevate itself and its members.[7]

Along with the new upstart, the society also mentioned that any women present in the Chemical Society were only guests as the Presidential address from Birkbeck revealed that women were not eligible for membership. This is something that would hold true until 1920.[8]

Its activities expanded over the years, including eventually becoming a major publisher in the field of chemistry. On May 15th, 1980, it amalgamated with the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society, and the Society for Analytical Chemistry to become the Royal Society of Chemistry.[9] The Chemical Society also was expanding far before this as Roberts and Simmons wrote about British Chemical Societies, "Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, of those who worked outside the UK, more than half worked in Europe, the United States, or a range of other countries outwith the British Empire."[10]

Presidents

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Original members

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On 23 February 1841, a meeting was convened to take into consideration the formation of a Chemical Society. The Provisional Committee appointed for carrying that object into effect invited a number of gentlemen engaged in the practice and pursuit of chemistry to become original members. The following 77 communicated their written assent:[11][12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-07-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Morris, Peter; Travis, Anthony (18 July 2013). "Ambix". The Chemical Society of London and the Dye Industry in the 1860s. 39 (3): 2 – via Missouri University of Science and Technology.
  3. ^ Rayner-Canham, Marelene; Rayner-Canham, Geoff (2003). "Pounding on the Doors: The Fight for Acceptance of British Women Chemists" (PDF). Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 28 (2).
  4. ^ Brock, W. H. (1967). "The London Chemical Society 1824". Ambix. 14 (2): 133–139.
  5. ^ Brock, William H (2011). The Case of the Poisonous Socks: Tales from Chemistry. Royal Society of Chemistry. pp. 67–73. ISBN 9781849733243.
  6. ^ Brock, W. H. (1967). "The London Chemical Society 1824". Ambix. 14 (2): 133–139.
  7. ^ Simmons, Anna E.; Brock, William H. (November 1, 2022). ""Robert Warington and Heinrich Will: Friendship and Co-operation in Chemistry in Nineteenth Century Britain and Germany"". Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry. 69 (4): 378.
  8. ^ Brock, W. H. (1967). "The London Chemical Society 1824". Ambix. 14 (2): 133–139.
  9. ^ "RSC Charter and By-laws" (PDF). Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  10. ^ Roberts, Gerrylynn K.; Simmons, Anna E. (2007). "The Overseas Dimensions of British Chemical Societies, 1890-1950". Historia Scientiarum: International Journal of the History of Science Society of Japan. 16: 225.
  11. ^ "Memoirs and Proceedings, Chemical Society". Proceedings of the Chemical Society of London. 1: A001. 1842. doi:10.1039/MP842010A001.
  12. ^ A list of the Officers and Members of the Chemical Society of London. London. 1843.
  13. ^ Hunt, L.B. (1843). "William John Cock". Platinum Metals Review. 27 (3): 129–132.
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