Frederick Field (chemist)
Frederick Field
Early life
He was born in
Field was one of the original members of the
Work in Chile
In 1848 he accepted the post of chemist to some
In 1852 Field was appointed manager of his company's works at
In 1856 Field became chemist and sub-manager to the smelting works then established by Señor Urmeneta at Guayacan, which have since become one of the largest copper-smelting works in the world. In 1859 a revolution broke out in Chile. Field sent his wife and family to England, but himself remained and succeeded in preserving the establishment from injury.
Return to England
In September 1859 he finally quit Chile for England. Soon after his arrival in London he was appointed lecturer on chemistry to St. Mary's Hospital (1860), and in 1862 became professor of chemistry in the London Institution. In the same year he was appointed chemist to the aniline colour works of Simpson, Maule, & Nicholson, a post which he held till 1866, when he became a partner in the old firm of his family - Messrs. J. C. & J. Field - in which he remained and of which he was senior partner at the time of his death. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1863.[2]
Death
In 1876 Field's health began to fail, and after a long illness he died on 3 April 1885.
Writings
Field wrote forty-three papers on scientific subjects for various periodicals, in addition to one written in conjunction with his brother-in-law, Sir F. A. Abel. Among them are:
- 'On the Solvent Power exercised by Hyposulphite of Soda on many Salts insoluble in Water' ('Journ. Chem. Soc.' 1863);
- 'On the Solubility of the Halogen Salts of Silver in certain Solutions' ('Chemical News,’ 1861);
- 'On the Existence of Silver in Sea-water' ('Proc. of the Royal Soc.' vol. viii. 1856–7);
- 'Artificial Formation of Atacamite' ('Revue Universelle,’ 1859);
- on 'Ludlamite, a new Mineral;’ and on 'The General Distribution of Bismuth in Copper Minerals' ('Journ. Chem. Soc.' 1862).
References
- ^ Memoirs Chem. Soc. iii. 404–11
- ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Field, Frederick (1826–1885)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.