John Williams Reynolds

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John Williams Reynolds (1817–28 July 1874) was an English

organic chemist. His disagreement in 1840 with Lord Cardigan, his commanding officer, (the notorious "black bottle affair") made him famous, and a popular cause célèbre in London. At the end of 1840, he left his regiment to study at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After graduating, he did not return to regimental duties but took up the study of organic chemistry at the Royal College of Chemistry, London. He discovered the compound propylene, thus advancing the theory of homology
. He was recalled to service in 1851 and rose to the rank of Major-General.

Early life

Reynolds was the son of Lieutenant-General Charles Reynolds of the army of the

Honourable East India Company (HEIC), who in 1807, had returned to live in England after his retirement. Charles Reynolds died in 1819 and John Reynolds became the ward of Henry Harvey, another former officer of the HEIC, whose own son died 1828. In April 1830, Reynolds was sent as a boarder to Eton College, leaving after four years.[1]

Regimental service

On 18 September 1835, Reynolds was commissioned as a

society" regiment then stationed at Meerut. The regiment was recalled to England in 1838, and Reynolds was promoted to lieutenant in November of that year.[1][3][4] He initially made a favourable impression upon Lord Cardigan, the commanding officer (with whom he was on social terms[5]), and on 10 January 1840, he was, by purchase, made captain.[6]

"Black bottle" affair

On 18 May 1840, while stationed at

court martial on which Reynolds had served as president had denied Cardigan's wish for a conviction; furthermore Cardigan had claimed, without justification, that officers like Reynolds who had served in India lacked discipline.[7] Fearing scandal, not least because a large proportion of the Army's commanders had served in India, Lord Somerset, the military secretary, persuaded Reynolds to stay, with a promise of six months' leave, a two-year senior command course at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst (RMC) and an intimation that he would never again have to serve under Cardigan. Reynolds accepted. The story broke to the public on 17 September 1840, when an anonymous but detailed account of the affair appeared in The Times.[8]

Reynolds was allowed paid leave for the remainder of 1840, until he received leave of absence to take his place at RMC Sandhurst.

aristocrat, he was being shielded from scrutiny.[10]

On completion of the course, Reynolds did not return to service immediately, taking official leave-of-absence as a "half-pay-officer".[1]

Study of chemistry

On Reynolds's release from the army, he enrolled as a student at the Royal College of Chemistry, London, investigating the new field of

fusel oil was heated he found that a component in the original mixture, amyl alcohol, yielded an unknown gas. To identify it, he reacted it with bromine and isolated the resulting compound. He deduced that this was C6H5Br2 and that the original gas was therefore C6H6. He named the gas propylene, after the hypothesised, but not yet isolated, propylic alcohol.[12][13][14] The Royal Society of Chemistry recognised this as an important step in the development of the theory of homology.[4] He was elected a Fellow of The Chemical Society of London.[1]

Army staff officer

On the outbreak of the Crimean War at the end of 1853, the War Office decided that Reynolds should be recalled to fill vacated staff officer positions. After a spell of duty at Horse Guards in the Adjutant-General's department, in 1856, he was posted to Jamaica as deputy Adjutant-General, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.[15] Returning to England after ten years, he was assigned to the northern division of the army at Manchester as assistant Adjutant-General.[1] He retired on 23 December 1864.[3] He was promoted to brevet major-general on 6 March 1868.[16]

Reconciliation with Cardigan

At a formal dinner of the 11th Hussars in 1865, some senior officers of the regiment persuaded Cardigan to meet Reynolds, and the two men entered the dining room together, hand-in-hand.[17] Cardigan and Reynolds rode together at the farewell parade of the 11th Hussars on 15 May 1866, before the regiment's posting to India.[18]

Personal life

On 20 January 1841, Reynolds was married to Helen Harvey, his guardian's daughter.[19] A son, Henry Charles Reynolds, was born 12 October 1841.[20] After a short illness Reynolds died in Koblenz, Germany, on 28 July 1874.[2][4]

References

  1. ^
    JSTOR 44232607
    .
  2. ^ a b "The Army and Navy". Pall Mall Budget. 6 August 1875. p. 33.
  3. ^ a b Hart, H. G., ed. (1859). Annual Army List. London: John Murray. p. 56.
  4. ^ a b c Abel, Frederick (1876). Watts, Henry (ed.). "Anniversary Meeting". Journal of the Chemical Society. 1. London: J. van Voorst: 620–621.
  5. ^ "Brighton Sept. 17". The Times. No. 17465. 19 September 1840. p. 4.
  6. ^ Colburn, Henry, ed. (February 1840). "War Office Promotions and Appointments". United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal. p. 293.
  7. ISBN 0-7102-1205-4
    .
  8. ^ "Earl of Cardigan and the 11th Hussars". The Times. No. 17465. 17 September 1840. pp. 4–5.
  9. ^ Thomas (1987) pp.113, 129
  10. ^ "The Earl of Cardigan". api.parliament.uk. Hansard. 13 May 1841. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  11. ISBN 9781783269730
    .
  12. doi:10.1039/QJ8510300111
    .
  13. ^ Francis, William, ed. (1 June 1850). "Proceedings of Societies—the Chemical Society of London". The Chemical Gazette, or Journal of Practical Chemistry. VIII (83). London: Richard & John Taylor: 218.
  14. ISBN 978-3-319-95488-2
    .
  15. London Gazette
    . 26 August 1859. p. 3206.
  16. ^ "Brevet" (PDF). London Gazette: 1594. 10 March 1874.
  17. OCLC 752898837
    .
  18. ISBN 0-349-10854-4
    .
  19. ^ "Marriages". The Times. No. 17573. 21 January 1841. p. 7.
  20. ^ "Births". The Times. No. 17800. 13 October 1841. p. 7.
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