Richard Chenevix (chemist)
Encyclopedia
Richard Chenevix FRS (ca. 1774 – 5 April 1830) was an Irish chemist.
Chenevix was a chemist who played a role in the discovery of the elemental nature of the metal palladium
. Disbelieving this solid to be an element, in 1803 he published his opinions that it was a combination of mercury
and platinum
. This had, somewhat indirectly, the effect of spurring on others to examine the new metal, which is indeed an element.
Chenevix was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1801 and was awarded its Copley Medal
in 1803. He married the Contesse de Rouault on 4 June 1812 at Marylebone Church.
Richard Chenevix died in Paris
in 1830 and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery
.
The mineral Chenevixite was named in his honor because of his earlier work analyzing copper ferrate arsenates.
Chenevix was a chemist who played a role in the discovery of the elemental nature of the metal palladium
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired...
. Disbelieving this solid to be an element, in 1803 he published his opinions that it was a combination of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
and platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
. This had, somewhat indirectly, the effect of spurring on others to examine the new metal, which is indeed an element.
Chenevix was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1801 and was awarded its Copley Medal
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
in 1803. He married the Contesse de Rouault on 4 June 1812 at Marylebone Church.
Richard Chenevix died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1830 and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
.
The mineral Chenevixite was named in his honor because of his earlier work analyzing copper ferrate arsenates.