James Walker (chemist)
Sir James Walker FRS (born April 6, 1863 in Dundee , Scotland , † May 6, 1935 ) was a British chemist in the field of physical chemistry .
Life
Walker initially worked in the flax fiber and jute industry before he began studying science at the University of Edinburgh , graduating in 1885 with a Bachelor of Science (BS). Then he was first from 1887 to 1889 assistant to Professor Adolf von Baeyer at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and subsequently to Professor Wilhelm Ostwald at the University of Leipzig . In 1892 returned to the University of Edinburgh as an assistant for a short time, but soon became assistant to William Ramsay onUniversity College London .
In 1894 he finally accepted a professorship in chemistry at University College Dundee and taught there until 1908. He then returned to his alma mater and was between 1908 and 1928 professor of chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. Since 1890 he was a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .
During his teaching and research activities he dealt in particular with the physical chemistry of aqueous solutions . As early as 1895 he conducted a pioneering study of the kinetics and reaction mechanism involved in the conversion of ammonium cyanate into urea , a topic to which he later devoted himself many more times.
His textbook Introduction to Physical Chemistry , published in 1899 , became a standard work in this field and ultimately contributed to his becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1900 .
During the First World War he was responsible for organizing the production of trinitrotoluene (TNT) in Edinburgh and was President of the Chemical Society between 1921 and 1923 after the war . Also in 1921 he was beaten to the Knight Bachelor and from then on carried the title of nobility "Sir".
Walker was finally in 1926 for his work in the field of the theory of ionization with the Davy Medal awarded by the Royal Society, the highest British award for scientists in the field of chemistry.
source
- Chambers Biographical Dictionary , Edinburgh 2002, ISBN 0-550-10051-2 , p. 1564
Individual evidence
- ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed April 19, 2020 .
- ↑ Davy Medal Winners 1989-1900 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Walker, James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Walker, Sir James |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 6, 1863 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dundee , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 6, 1935 |