The FIRST CHEMICAL SOCIETY in the WORLD JAMES KENDALL University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
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HEMISTS of olden times were not wont to foregather merely as chemists; they merged themselves in broader organizations such as the Royal Society or the American Philosophical Society. The Chemical Society of London did not come into existence until 1841. It was preceded, however, by several chemical associations which have since lapsed. S i r William Ramsay (I)has recorded the fact that his grandfather was the President of a Chemical Society in Glasgow, founded in 1798, but world priority has by general agreement been conceded to the Chemical Society of Philadelphia, founded by James Woodhouse in 1792. Edgar F. Smith (2) may be quoted in this connection : This was the first chemical society in the world. As far as can be learned. Woodhouse was. its first and onlv oresident. This society lived about seventeen years. Its membeA favored Lavoisier's doctrine of combustion. The minutes of the society have never been found, although diligent search has been made f a them.
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Among the correspondence of Joseph william Ramsay discovered a sheet of paper, which only the date, 1785, was in Black's handwriting, entitled "List of the Members of the Chemical Society." Ramsay remarks regarding this as follows:
and within a quarter of an hour (the right names tumbled out of the register just like ripe apples from a tree when shaken) it was established that no fewer than 53 out of the 59 were students attending Black's class in chemistry at Edinburgh University during the years 1783-87. The remaining six* may have been students a t an earlier period, or their names may have been wrongly transcribed in Ramsay's list. The plausibility of the latter assumption is evident from the following more obvious discrepancies: F. Galley (Ramsay), T. Galley (Register); Jas. Plnmbe (Ramsay), John Plumbe (Register); Thos. Swainson (Ramsay), Thos. Swanston (Register). In any event, it is quite plain that this society of 1785 was not, as Ramsay surmised, a general society. I t was, on the contrarv, .. a society consistina of those members of Black's class with special &erest in chemistry-in other words, it was the chemical Society of the University of Edinburgh. How long it survived after 1785, or how long it existed prior to 1785, we have a t present no knowledge, but now that the of its has been fixed the passibility, noted by Ramsay, of locating usome one of their descendants in possess~onof some record of its proceedinvs and histom" is clearlv :much ~~. more likelv of .. realization. ~~~t~~~out of the fifty.nine members are on the graduates of the University of Edinlist of burgh between the years 1784-90. This list also gives the nationality in each case, and it is interesting to find that, of the nineteen,. only . three were native Scots, three ~ n ~ l i s and h , the residual thirteen till Irish! joseph Black was himself, of course, of Belfast ancestty, and the proportion of Irish students in the Scottish Universities has always been significant,but such a preponderance as this is very surprising. Whether its Irish element ~ was ~ responsible , ~for the~ultimate ~ disruption ~ of ~ the society (it is ominous that-Bicker ~ c ~ o i a and ld J. Unthank were both Hibernians) is a question that, perhaps just as well, we are not in a position to press. The Edinburgh University Chemical Society celebrated, in April of this year, its Diamond Jubilee, being under the impression that it was founded only sixty years ago. I t was the pleasant duty of the writer, in the course of these celebrations, to inform his fellowmembers of the fact that they had been called together under false pretences. The original foundation of ~
This may have been a society of persons residing in Edinburgh interested in Chemistry, but is more likely to have been a general society . . The only name that I can recognize is that of Dr. Thos. Beddoes [the founder of the Pneumatic Institute and the -discoverer" of ~ ~ ~ Davy]; ~ h the r names y would indicate that their possessors belonged to all parts of the kingdom.
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l-he complete list of names-5g duced below:
incall-is
repro-
John Wehster w m . scott
M~~~~~ D~~~~
Hen. N. Ward
J. Alderson
Jan. Pornter
H. &he Jno. Gay
T. Gill T. Wilisan h. M ~ T ~ O S . swainson Arehd. Webb J. crumbie ~ ~ Gm. Majoribnoks T. Greig I.Parr Alex Sturenn wm.symonds Thw. Beddoeo J. Thompson G. arkaldie J. Carmichel Nich. Eleoek ~ i ~ h G~~~ d . J. Hayle
- Halliday sam.B
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i & Jaa. Plumbe wm. ~ ~ h Thos. Ciothier Henry Johnston peter G - O ~ Robt. Ross L. van M e u s (amteemann batsvis) Hugh BraJ O B O~ Y ~ O ~ Edw. Fhirclough Bicker MeDonald
F. GSIICY
An. Mson
T ~ O .M C M O Z ~ ~ ~
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~ d &G ~ I I ~ J P ~ Thos. Burnside corn. ~ pyne ~ t J. Unthank 1. Barrow J. D~~~~~~ Saml. Macoy G. T~~~ J. Sedgwick T . Skeete wm.~~b~~~~ J. Sprole Thos. Cmke T ~ o . .~ d g m Guyton Jolly
I. M
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The idea struck the writer that an examination of the register of students a t the University of Edmburgh a t that period might identify more of the names in the above list. This register was accordingly consulted,
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* Thanks to the kindly zeal of Dr. Alexander Morgan, five of the missing six have since been traced as registered students of Joseph Black between 1780 and 1788. The only name on the list now definitely unlocated is that of Peter Gernon. 565
the society goes back not to 1875 but to 1785; it is not its Diamond Jubilee that is being celebrated, but its Sesquicentenary. It displaces the Dialectic Society of Edinburgh (founded in 1787) as the oldest university society, and it displaces the Chemical Society of Philadelphia as the first chemical society in the world. It is, indeed, not unreasonable to regard the Chemical Society of Philadelphia as a daughter society of that a t Edinburgh. The medical school of the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) was instituted in 1765 under strong Edinburgh auspices, and the coat of arms of the University of Edinburgh is still to be seen above the entranceto one of its original buildings. John Morgan (31, who first taught chemistry there, and Benjamin Rush (4), who succeeded him in 1769 as the first full-time professor of chemistry.in America, were both students of Joseph Black ln Edm-
burgh. With such an intimate connection between the two centers, the existence of a chemical society a t Edinburgh University, sponsored by Black, would certainly be a matter of common knowledge in the College of Philadelphia, and when James Woodhouse (then a young man of twenty-two) founded the Chemical Society of Philadelphia in 1792 he may quite plausibly be pictured as following, cousciously and deliberately, in the footsteps of Joseph Black. LITERATURE CITED
S I R W I L L I A M R"TheLifeand ~~Y, letters of Joseph Black, M.D.," Constable and Co., London, 1918, p. 110. (2) EDGAR F. SMITH, "Chemistry in America," D. Appleton and Co., New York City, 1914, p. 12. (3) J. S. HEPBWRN J. CHEM. EDUC.9 1577 (1932). (1)
(4) EDOAR F. New York City, 1927, p. 11.
DIVISION OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION-SAN EXECUTNE COMMITTEE MEETINGAUGUST20, 1935 Present: R. E. Swain, N. W. Rakestraw, V. Bartow, W. Segerblom. Appropriations for the 'coming year were voted: Chairman's office Secretary's office Treasurer'soffice Expenses of meetings Expenses of committees
$25 50 15 25 50
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The following resolution was passed: Since the Senate of Chemical Education, established by vote of the Divisian of Chemical Education a t the August, 1925, meeting in Los Angeles, has served its primary purpose and is now inactive, and Since the committees of the Senate have recently been made committees of the Division and now report t o the Division directly, The Executive Committee recommends that the Division officially vote to disband the Senate, and that the Secretary of the Division be instructed t o notify the organizations that elected the senators. C
BUSINESS MEETING OF THE DIVISION,AUGUST 21, 1935 The following report of the treasurer was accepted: Cash on hand April 15, 1935 Receipts: Dues from active members Dues from associate members
$273.95
Total Expenditures:
.S13.95
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION, ~ S S O C ~ Z & subscriptions Editor of JOURNAL, expenses to New York meeting Outstanding check Tots1
15.00 75.00 1.34
$ 91.34
Receipts less expenditures, or cash on hand August 20, 1935 $222.61 VIRGINIABARTOW, Treasurer
A semifinal report was received from the Committee on Minimum Equipment and copies were distributed.
McGraw-Hill Book Co,,
FRANCISCO MINUTES
The secretary was instructed to send a vote of thanks to the chairman of this committee. The Committee on Chemical Education of the NonCollegiate Type submitted a Progress report. The Committee on Correlation of High School and College Chemistry announced that its final report would appear in an early number of the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION.The problem of financin~the distribution of reprints of this ;eport was referred t o the Executive Committee. It was agreed that the committee be discharged when this report is published. The following report was submitted by the Committee on Naming and Scopeof Committees: The symposium a t the New Yark meeting on Lecture Demonstrations versus Individual Laboratory Work and the discussion thereon led t o a desire for a committee to investigate the mstter further and t o make definite recommendations. The question was referred to this committee. We have considered the proposal a t great length and recommend that the chairman of the Division appoint a Committee on Experimental Work in Chemistry. W. SEGERBL~M, Chairman
It was voted to accept the report and appoint the committee referred to. It was also voted to appoint a Committee on the Use of the JOURNAL, to suggest ways in which the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION can be used in college and high-school classes. After hearing the resolution presented by the Executive Committee (see above), it was voted to disband the Senate of Chemical Education, as suggested. The following officers were elected for the next year: Chairman: HARRISON HALE Vice-chairman: F. B. WADE Treasurer: VIRG~E~IA BARTOW (three years) Ereczltiue Committee member-at-large: B. S. HOPKINS
(The secretary's term expires in 1936.) Secretary NORRISW. RAKESTRAW,
