James Riddick Partington

James Riddick Partington , MBE , mostly given in the literature as JR Partington (born June 20, 1886 in Bolton , England , † October 9, 1965 in Weaverham , Cheshire ), was a British chemist and chemical historian.

Life

He graduated from the University of Manchester , where he received several prestigious awards. As part of the 1851 Exhibition Scholarship , he received a grant and worked with Walther Hermann Nernst in Berlin . From 1913 he was back in Manchester and dealt with physical chemistry and especially the specific heat of gases. For his work for the Ministry of Munitions during the First World War , Partington was accepted as an MBE (member) in the Order of the British Empire . From 1919 to 1951 he was Professor of Chemistry at Queen Mary and Westfield College , an independent part of the University of London . In 1951 he retired. Widowed since 1940, in his retirement he moved from London to Cambridge, where he led a secluded life and devoted himself entirely to the history of chemistry.

Of his many books, the 5-volume work An Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry and the 4-volume work A History of Chemistry are particularly well known, which together with his book on the history of pyrotechnics established his reputation as a chemical historian. He also wrote widely introductory chemistry textbooks.

Partington was the first chairman of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry , founded in 1937 , which awards the Partington Prize in memory of the chemist . In 1965 Partington was awarded the George Sarton Medal , the highly prestigious prize for the history of science from the History of Science Society (HSS) founded by George Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson . In 1961 he received the Dexter Award .

Fonts

• Higher Mathematics for Chemistry Students , 1911
• The Alkali Industry , 1918
• Inorganic Chemistry for University Students , 1921, 6th edition 1961
• General and Inorganic Chemistry for University Students , 1946, 4th edition 1966
• Origins and Development of Applied Chemistry , 1935
• The Life and Work of William Higgins , Chemist (1763-1825) , 1960
• A Short History of Chemistry , Dover Publications, Inc., 1937, ISBN 0486659771 .
• An Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry , Longmans, 1949 (Volume 1), 1951 (Volume 2), 1952 (Volume 3), 1953 (Volume 4) and 1954 (Volume 5).
• A History of Chemistry , MacMillan, 1970 (Volume 1), 1961 (Volume 2), 1962 (Volume 3), 1964 (Volume 4)
• A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder . Cambridge: Heffer, 1960. Republished: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8018-5954-9 .
• Dalton's atomic theory , Scientia: rivista internazionale di sintesi scientifica, 90, 1955, pp. 221-225

literature

• Obituary, The Times, October 11, 1965, reprinted in Volume 1 of his A History of Chemistry 1970.
• Joseph Needham : Letter: Prof. JR Partington , The Times October 16, 1965
• Harold Hartley: James Riddick Partington, in Dictionary of Scientific Biography , 1974

Footnotes

1. ^ Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry: Partington Prize .