Thomas Thomson (chemist)

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Thomas Thomson (chemist).

Thomas Thomson (born April 12, 1773 in Crieff , Perthshire , † July 2, 1852 in Kilmun , Argyleshire ) was a Scottish chemist and mineralogist. Through his textbooks, he contributed a great deal to the dissemination of John Dalton's atomic theory .

life and work

Thomson went to school in Dundee and attended the University of St. Andrews , where he studied classical languages, math and science. He then studied medicine in Edinburgh with a degree (MD) in 1799. At the university he began to study chemistry , encouraged by Joseph Black , and gave private chemistry classes in Edinburgh after completing his studies. In addition, from 1796, as the successor to his brother James, he was co-editor of the supplement of the 3rd edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, where he wrote articles on chemistry, natural substances and mineralogy. This also formed the basis of his book System of Chemistry (1802). For the 7th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica from 1842 he wrote the article chemistry. In 1811 he visited Sweden and then moved to London, but in 1817 went to Glasgow as a lecturer. Thomson was from 1818 to 1852 Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow . His teaching duties were taken over by his nephew and son-in-law Robert Dundas Thomson (1810–1864) in 1846 , who supported him in lectures from 1841 onwards.

In 1820 he discovered a new zeolite mineral that was named after him as Thomsonite . In 1831 he proposed the English term silicon for silicon . He was an early follower of the atomic theory of John Dalton , among other things in his book Elements of Chemistry from the 3rd edition 1807. He also invented a saccharometer (as an advisor to the Scottish Excise Board). In class, he placed emphasis on laboratory work and was considered the first teacher of practical chemistry at a British university.

Thomson was President of the Philosophical Society of Glasgow. From 1813 he was editor of the monthly journal Annals of Philosophy, which merged in 1827 with the Philosophical Magazine. In 1800 he was one of the founding members of the Wernerian Natural History Society (which was named in honor of the Neptunist Abraham Gottlob Werner ) and he was an opponent of James Hutton .

His son was the botanist Thomas Thomson (1817–1878).

In 1811 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society , in 1805 of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and in 1815 a corresponding member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences .

Works

  • Elements of Chemistry . 1810; 7th edition 1831 (first edition as A system of chemistry , 4 volumes, 1802)
  • History of the Royal Society, from its institution to the end of the eighteenth century . 1812
  • An Attempt to Establish the First Principles of Chemistry by Experiment . 1825
  • The History of Chemistry . Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London 1830–31
  • A System of Chemistry of Inorganic Bodies ., 1831
  • Outlines of Mineralogy, Geology and Mineralogical Analysis . 2 volumes. Glasgow 1836
  • Chemistry of Animal Bodies . 1843

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Thomas Thomson . The University of Glasgow Story; on the University of Glasgow website; Retrieved January 20, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Thomson, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish chemist
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH Crief
DATE OF DEATH July 2, 1852
Place of death Kilmun