Andrew Ure: Difference between revisions
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Ure founded the Garnet Hill observatory in 1808. He was put in charge and resided in it for several years, leaving it second only to Greenwich in reputation at that time. Whilst in residence he was visited by [[William Herschel|Sir William Herschel]], the [[Astronomer Royal]], who gave some lectures to the local Astronomical Society and helped him to install a fourteen-foot reflecting telescope of his own [Ure's] design and manufacture. He was elected Fellow of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1811. Herschel's second son, many years later (in 1866), came to occupy Dr. Ure's Chair in Natural Philosophy<ref>{{harvnb|Copeman|1951|p=658}}</ref><ref name=Oxford/> |
Ure founded the Garnet Hill observatory in 1808. He was put in charge and resided in it for several years, leaving it second only to Greenwich in reputation at that time. Whilst in residence he was visited by [[William Herschel|Sir William Herschel]], the [[Astronomer Royal]], who gave some lectures to the local Astronomical Society and helped him to install a fourteen-foot reflecting telescope of his own [Ure's] design and manufacture. He was elected Fellow of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1811. Herschel's second son, many years later (in 1866), came to occupy Dr. Ure's Chair in Natural Philosophy<ref>{{harvnb|Copeman|1951|p=658}}</ref><ref name=Oxford/> |
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In 1814, while giving guest lectures in Belfast, he did consulting work for the Irish linen board, devising an 'alkalimeter' which gave volumetric estimates of the alkali contents of industrial substances. This in turn led him to the concept of normality in volumetric analysis. He achieved considerable reputation for his practical chemistry.<ref name=Oxford/> |
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In 1818 Ure revealed experiments he had been carrying out on a murderer/thief named Matthew Clydesdale, after the man's execution by hanging. He claimed that, by stimulating the phrenic nerve, life could be restored in cases of suffocation, drowning or hanging. This supposedly influenced [[Mary Shelley]] when writing her novel, 'Frankenstein'.<ref>[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRure.htm Andrew Ure at Spartacus school net]</ref> |
In 1818 Ure revealed experiments he had been carrying out on a murderer/thief named Matthew Clydesdale, after the man's execution by hanging. He claimed that, by stimulating the phrenic nerve, life could be restored in cases of suffocation, drowning or hanging. This supposedly influenced [[Mary Shelley]] when writing her novel, 'Frankenstein'.<ref>[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRure.htm Andrew Ure at Spartacus school net]</ref> |
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Revision as of 21:45, 23 December 2010
Andrew Ure | |
|---|---|
 Andrew Ure | |
| Born | May 18, 1778 |
| Died | January 2, 1857 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicine, Chemistry, and natural philosophy |
| Institutions | Andersonian Institution, Glasgow |
Andrew Ure[1] (18 May 1778 – 2 January 1857) was a Scottish doctor, scholar and chemist.[2]
Biography
Andrew Ure was born in Glasgow, the son of Alexander Ure, a cheesemonger and his wife, Anne. He received an M.D. from Glasgow University in 1801, and served briefly as an army surgeon before settling in Glasgow, where he became a member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons in 1803. He replaced Dr. George Birkbeck as Professor of Natural Philosophy (specializing in chemistry and physics) at the recently formed Andersonian Institution in 1804. His evening lectures on chemistry and mechanics enjoyed considerable success and inspired the foundation of a number of mechanical institutions in Britain and the École des Arts et Métiers in Paris. He married Catherine Monteath in 1807.[2]
Ure founded the Garnet Hill observatory in 1808. He was put in charge and resided in it for several years, leaving it second only to Greenwich in reputation at that time. Whilst in residence he was visited by Sir William Herschel, the Astronomer Royal, who gave some lectures to the local Astronomical Society and helped him to install a fourteen-foot reflecting telescope of his own [Ure's] design and manufacture. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1811. Herschel's second son, many years later (in 1866), came to occupy Dr. Ure's Chair in Natural Philosophy[3][2]
In 1814, while giving guest lectures in Belfast, he did consulting work for the Irish linen board, devising an 'alkalimeter' which gave volumetric estimates of the alkali contents of industrial substances. This in turn led him to the concept of normality in volumetric analysis. He achieved considerable reputation for his practical chemistry.[2]
In 1818 Ure revealed experiments he had been carrying out on a murderer/thief named Matthew Clydesdale, after the man's execution by hanging. He claimed that, by stimulating the phrenic nerve, life could be restored in cases of suffocation, drowning or hanging. This supposedly influenced Mary Shelley when writing her novel, 'Frankenstein'.[4]
Every muscle of the body was immediately agitated with convulsive movements resembling a violent shuddering from cold. ... On moving the second rod from hip to heel, the knee being previous]y bent, the leg was thrown out with such violence as nearly to overturn one of the assistants, who in vain tried to prevent its extension. The body was also made to perform the movements of breathing by stimulating the phrenic nerve and the diaphragm.[5]
When the supraorbital nerve was excited 'every muscle in his countenance was simultaneously thrown into fearful action; rage, horror, despair, anguish, and ghastly smiles, united their hideous expressions in the murderer's face, surpassing far the wildest representations of Fuseli or a Kean. At this period several of the spectators were forced to leave the apartment from terror or sickness, and one gentleman fainted.'[6][2]
In 1819 he divorced his wife, who had become the mistress of an Anderson's Institution colleague. In 1821 he published his first major book, Dictionary of Chemistry, a replacement for William Nicholson's outdated Dictionary. In 1822 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.[2]
By 1830, Ure's outside interests led him to resign first from his chair and then from the Institution. He moved to London and set himself up as a consulting chemist (probably the first such in Britain). His work included acting as an expert witness, government commissions and industrial tours of England, Belgium and France. His visits to English textile mills led to his publication of The Philosophy of Manufactures (1835) and Account of the Cotton Industry (1836), dealing with the textile industry. In 1840 he helped found the Pharmaceutical Society.[2]
The great Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines, Ure's chief and most encyclopedic work, was published in 1837 for which he received 1,000 guineas. Further enlarged editions were rapidly called for in 1840, 1843 and 1853. After his death four further editions appeared, the last in 1878. This work was translated into almost every European language, including Russian and Spanish. The Times review said: "This is a book of vast research, and the variety of subjects embraced in it may be estimated by the fact that on the French translation it was thought advisable to employ nineteen collaborators, all regarded as experts in their special subjects."[7]
Ure died in 1857 in London.[2] Michael Faraday's posthumous description of him was:
…his skill and accuracy were well knownas well as the ingenuity of the methods employed in his researches … and it has been stated that no one of his results has ever been impugned. His extensive knowledge enabled him to arrive at conclusions, and to demonstrate facts considered impossible by his compeers in science[8]
Scriptural geologist
Ure was a scriptural geologist[9] and in 1829 published A New System of Geology, for which "he received 500 guineas and was elected an original member of the Geological Society."[6] Some criticized it severely.[2] "The New System of Geology was not a success, even among readers who might have been expected to be sympathetic, and it was soon forgotten." because "the New System of Geology ... came just too late, at a time when the positions it so noisily defended were being quietly abandoned, leaving the author in slightly ridiculous isolation."[6]
Notes
- ^ pronounced to rhyme with "pure"
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Donald Cardwell, Ure, Andrew (1778–1857),(registration required) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 29 Aug 2009
- ^ Copeman 1951, p. 658
- ^ Andrew Ure at Spartacus school net
- ^ Copeman 1951, pp. 658–59
- ^ a b c Farrar, W. V. (Feb. 1973). "Andrew Ure, F.R.S., and the Philosophy of Manufactures". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. 27 (2): 299–324. doi:10.1098/rsnr.1973.0021.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) p. 103 - ^ Copeman 1951, p. 661
- ^ Copeman 1951, p. 660
- ^ Brooke & Cantor 2000, p. 57
References
- Brooke, John Hedley; Cantor, G. N. (2000). Reconstructing nature: the engagement of science and religion. ISBN 019513706X.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Copeman, W. S. C. "Andrew Ure, M.D., F.R.S. (1778-1857)". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 44 (8). Royal Society of Medicine: 655–662. PMC 2081840. PMID 14864563.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help)
Works
- Dictionary of Chemistry, (1821)
- A New System of Geology, (1829)
- The Philosophy of Manufactures, or an Exposition of the Scientific, Moral and Commercial Economy of the Factory System of Great Britain, (1835)
- Account of the Cotton Industry, (1836)
- A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines, (1870) vol. 1 of 2.
External links
- Farrar, W. V. (1973). "Andrew Ure, F.R.S., and the Philosophy of Manufactures," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 27, No. 2. (Feb., 1973), pp. 299–324.
- Andrew Ure article at Schoolnet
- Prof. Andrew Ure article at The Gazetteer for Scotland