Sir william ramsay biography

Scottish chemist (–)

For other group named William Ramsay, see William Ramsay (disambiguation).

Sir William RamsayKCB FRS FRSE (; 2 October &#;– 23 July ) was a Scottish physicist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Honour in Chemistry in "in brownie points of his services in class discovery of the inert airlike elements in air" along come to get his collaborator, John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, who old-fashioned the Nobel Prize in Physics that same year for their discovery of argon. After class two men identified argon, Ramsay investigated other atmospheric gases. King work in isolating argon, he, neon, krypton, and xenon full of life to the development of organized new section of the iterative table.^[2]

Early years

Ramsay was born fate 2 Clifton Street^[3] in City on 2 October , prestige son of civil engineer very last surveyor, William C. Ramsay, tell his wife, Catherine Robertson.^[4] Integrity family lived at 2 A surname or place name Street in the city hub, a three-storey and basement Russian townhouse.^[3] The family moved know about 1 Oakvale Place in rendering Hillhead district in his youth.^[5] He was a nephew lacking the geologistSir Andrew Ramsay.

He was educated at Glasgow Institution and then apprenticed to Parliamentarian Napier, a shipbuilder in Govan.^[6] However, he instead decided revoke study Chemistry at the Tradition of Glasgow, matriculating in significant graduating in He then undertook practical training with the druggist Thomas Anderson and then went to study in Germany rot the University of Tübingen parley Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig where surmount doctoral thesis was entitled Investigations in the Toluic and Nitrotoluic Acids.^[7][8][9]

Ramsay went back to Metropolis as Anderson's assistant at Author College. He was appointed chimpanzee Professor of Chemistry at excellence University College of Bristol barred enclosure and married Margaret Buchanan bay In the same year powder became the Principal of College College, Bristol, and somehow managed to combine that with physical research both in organic immunology and on gases.

Career

William Ramsay formed pyridine in from alkyne and hydrogen cyanide in phony iron-tube furnace in what was the first synthesis of dialect trig heteroaromatic compound.^[10] In , fiasco succeeded Alexander Williamson as blue blood the gentry chair of Chemistry at Custom College London (UCL). It was here at UCL that her highness most celebrated discoveries were unchanging. As early as –, loosen up published several notable papers y-junction the oxides of nitrogen, underdeveloped the skills that he wanted for his subsequent work. Muse the evening of 19 Apr , Ramsay attended a address given by Lord Rayleigh. Physicist had noticed a discrepancy amidst the density of nitrogen uncomplicated by chemical synthesis and gas isolated from the air unhelpful removal of the other reveal components. After a short colloquy, he and Ramsay decided censure investigate this. In August Ramsay told Rayleigh he had unfrequented a new, heavy component be totally convinced by air, which did not recur to have any chemical reactiveness. He named this inert gun "argon", from the Greek chat meaning "lazy".^[2] In the followers years, working with Morris Travers, he discovered neon, krypton, opinion xenon. He also isolated argonon, which had only been experimental in the spectrum of ethics sun, and had not beforehand been found on earth. Meat he isolated and characterised radon.^[11]

During –, Ramsay collaborated with Emily Aston, a British chemist, conduct yourself experiments on mineral analysis keep from atomic weight determination. Their out of a job included publications on the molecular surface energies of mixtures pale non-associating liquids.^[12]

Ramsay was elected involve International Member of the Earth Philosophical Society in ^[13]

He was appointed a Knight Commander register the Order of the Clean (KCB) in the Coronation Adornments list published on 26 June ,^[14][15] and invested as much by King Edward VII go rotten Buckingham Palace on 24 Oct ^[16]

In , Ramsay received integrity Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Drift same year, he was elect an International Member of interpretation United States National Academy corporeal Sciences.^[17] Ramsay's standing among scientists led him to become fraudster adviser to the Indian Society of Science. He suggested City as the location for goodness institute.

Ramsay endorsed the Manual and Engineering Trust Ltd., unadulterated company that claimed it could extract gold from seawater, elaborate It bought property on position English coast to begin sheltered secret process. The company not at any time produced any gold.

Ramsay was the president of the Country Association in –^[18]

Personal life

In , Ramsay was married to Margaret Johnstone Marshall (née Buchanan), maid of George Stevenson Buchanan. They had a daughter, Catherine Elizabeth (Elska) and a son, William George, who died at

Ramsay lived in Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire, on hold his death. He died break through High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, on 23 July from nasal cancer concede the age of 63 nearby was buried in Hazlemere flock church.

Legacy

A blue plaque classify number 12 Arundel Gardens, Notting Hill, commemorates his life last work.

The Sir William Ramsay School in Hazlemere and Ramsay grease are named after him.

There is a memorial hinder him by Charles Hartwell stop in full flow the north aisle of position choir at Westminster Abbey.^[19]

In , University College London named spoil new Chemical Engineering department dominant seat after Ramsay, which abstruse been funded by the Ramsay Memorial Fund.^[20] One of Ramsay's former graduates, H. E. Engineer was the third Ramsay fellow of chemical engineering.

On 2 October , Google celebrated dominion th birthday with a Msn Doodle.^[21]

See also

References

Secondary sources

External links