John Davy (chemist)
Encyclopedia
John Davy FRS was a British doctor, amateur chemist, and brother of the noted chemist Sir Humphry Davy, and cousin of Edmund Davy
.
John Davy was born in Penzance
, Cornwall
. He assisted his older brother Humphry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain for two years before heading to Edinburgh University, where he earned his degree in medicine in 1814. Davy is perhaps most noted for his discovery of phosgene
in 1812, a compound he also named. He also discovered silicon tetrafluoride
.
Upon graduation, Davy joined the British Army Medical Department and became Inspector General of Hospitals. He used his position to travel to a great number of the English colonies, including India
, Ceylon, and Barbados
.
In 1834 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
. From 1836 to 1840 he produced nine volumes on the collected works of his brother. After a brief time spent living in the West Indies, Davy returned to England, where he died in 1868.
In 1863 he discovered that eggshells have about 8,000 pores that are large enough for oxygen to flow in and carbon dioxide to flow out by pumping pressurized air into an underwater egg and watching thousands of tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the shell.
Edmund Davy
Edmund Davy FRS was a professor of Chemistry at the Royal Cork Institution from 1813 and professor of chemistry at the Royal Dublin Society from 1826. He discovered acetylene, as it was later named by Marcellin Berthelot...
.
John Davy was born in Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. He assisted his older brother Humphry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain for two years before heading to Edinburgh University, where he earned his degree in medicine in 1814. Davy is perhaps most noted for his discovery of phosgene
Phosgene
Phosgene is the chemical compound with the formula COCl2. This colorless gas gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War I. It is also a valued industrial reagent and building block in synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds. In low concentrations, its odor resembles...
in 1812, a compound he also named. He also discovered silicon tetrafluoride
Silicon tetrafluoride
Silicon tetrafluoride or Tetrafluorosilane is the chemical compound with the formula SiF4. This tetrahedral molecule is notable for having a remarkably narrow liquid range...
.
Upon graduation, Davy joined the British Army Medical Department and became Inspector General of Hospitals. He used his position to travel to a great number of the English colonies, including India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Ceylon, and Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
.
In 1834 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
. From 1836 to 1840 he produced nine volumes on the collected works of his brother. After a brief time spent living in the West Indies, Davy returned to England, where he died in 1868.
In 1863 he discovered that eggshells have about 8,000 pores that are large enough for oxygen to flow in and carbon dioxide to flow out by pumping pressurized air into an underwater egg and watching thousands of tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the shell.