J. R. Partington
Encyclopedia
James Riddick Partington MBE
(30 June 1886 – 9 October 1965) was a British
chemist
and historian of chemistry.
, Lancashire and was educated at the University of Manchester
, where he obtained First Class Honours. He was awarded an 1851 Exhibition Scholarship and worked with Nernst
in Berlin
.
During World War I he was first assigned to work with Eric Rideal
on the purification of water for troops on the Somme
. Later he was transferred to a group led by Frederick G. Donnan
, which worked on the production of nitric acid
for munitions. Partington was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Military Division for this latter work.
He was a lecturer at the University of Manchester and later the Professor of Chemistry at Queen Mary College, London
, from 1919 to 1951.
Partington wrote many books, but he is particularly well known for the five-volume An Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry and the four volume A History of Chemistry. Professor Partington collected a considerable library of works on the history of alchemy and chemistry which is preserved in the John Rylands Library
.
In 1965 he was awarded the George Sarton Medal
, the most prestigious award of the History of Science Society
.
Partington died on 9 October 1965 in Northwich
, England.
Partington's son R. G. Partington was also a doctor of chemistry and played an important part in his work: he has been cited as editing some of his works.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(30 June 1886 – 9 October 1965) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and historian of chemistry.
Life and work
Partington was born in BoltonBolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Lancashire and was educated at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, where he obtained First Class Honours. He was awarded an 1851 Exhibition Scholarship and worked with Nernst
Walther Nernst
Walther Hermann Nernst FRS was a German physical chemist and physicist who is known for his theories behind the calculation of chemical affinity as embodied in the third law of thermodynamics, for which he won the 1920 Nobel Prize in chemistry...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
During World War I he was first assigned to work with Eric Rideal
Eric Rideal
Sir Eric Keightley Rideal FRS was an English physical chemist. He worked on a wide range of subjects, including electrochemistry, chemical kinetics, catalysis, electrophoresis, colloids and surface chemistry. He is best known for the Eley-Rideal mechanism, which he proposed in 1938 with Daniel D....
on the purification of water for troops on the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
. Later he was transferred to a group led by Frederick G. Donnan
Frederick G. Donnan
Frederick George Donnan FRS was an Irish physical chemist who is known for his work on membrane equilibria, and commemorated in the Donnan equilibrium describing ionic transport in cells...
, which worked on the production of nitric acid
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
for munitions. Partington was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Military Division for this latter work.
He was a lecturer at the University of Manchester and later the Professor of Chemistry at Queen Mary College, London
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, from 1919 to 1951.
Partington wrote many books, but he is particularly well known for the five-volume An Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry and the four volume A History of Chemistry. Professor Partington collected a considerable library of works on the history of alchemy and chemistry which is preserved in the John Rylands Library
John Rylands Library
The John Rylands Library is a Victorian Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Mrs Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her late husband, John Rylands...
.
In 1965 he was awarded the George Sarton Medal
George Sarton Medal
The George Sarton Medal is the most prestigious award given by the History of Science Society. It has been awarded annually since 1955. It is awarded to an historian of science from the international community who became distinguished for "a lifetime of scholarly achievement" in the field...
, the most prestigious award of the History of Science Society
History of Science Society
The History of Science Society is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science.It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publication of Isis, a journal of the history of science Sarton had started in 1912....
.
Partington died on 9 October 1965 in Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
, England.
Partington's son R. G. Partington was also a doctor of chemistry and played an important part in his work: he has been cited as editing some of his works.
Selected writings
- 1911: Higher Mathematics for Chemical Students
- 1913: A Text-book of Thermodynamics
- 1921: A Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry for University Students
- 1937: A Short History of Chemistry, London: Macmillan. Reissued by Dover Publications, New York ISBN 0-486-65977-1
- 1949: An Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry, London: Longmans, 1949 (Volume 1), 1951 (Volume 2), 1952 (Volume 3), 1953 (Volume 4) and 1954 (Volume 5)
- 1960: A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. Cambridge: Heffer. Republished: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8018-5954-9
- 1961: A History of Chemistry, Macmillan, 1970 (Volume 1, part I) [The second part of this volume was never published.], 1961 (Volume 2), 1962 (Volume 3), 1964 (Volume 4)
Further reading
- Obituary, The Times, 11 October 1965, reprinted in Volume 1 of A History of Chemistry in 1970.