William Nicholson (chemist)
William Nicholson (13 December 1753 – 21 May 1815) was an English writer, translator, publisher, scientist, inventor, patent agent and civil engineer. He launched the first monthly scientific journal in Britain, Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts, in 1797, and remained its editor until 1814. In 1800, he and Anthony Carlisle were the first to achieve electrolysis, the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, using a voltaic pile. Nicholson also wrote extensively on natural philosophy and chemistry
Early life
Nicholson was educated in Yorkshire, and after leaving school, he made two voyages as a midshipman in the service of the
Subsequently, having become acquainted with Josiah Wedgwood in 1775, he moved to Amsterdam, where he made a living for a few years as Wedgwood's agent.
On his return to England he was persuaded by Thomas Holcroft to apply his writing talents to the composition of light literature for periodicals, while also assisting Holcroft with some of his plays and novels - Alwyn[2] and Duplicity.[3]
Meanwhile, he devoted himself to the preparation of An Introduction to Natural Philosophy, which was published in 1782 by Joseph Johnson and was at once successful. Translations for Joseph Johnson included Voltaire's Elements of the Philosophy of Newton as well as M. Maistre de La Tour's History of Hyder Shah in 1784. He then published The Navigator's Assistant[4] based on his time with the East India Company .
In 1784 he was proposed by Josiah Wedgwood (the current chairman) and appointed as secretary to the
Scientific work
On 12 December 1783, Nicholson was elected to the "Chapter Coffee House Philosophical Society". He was proposed by
Nicholson communicated to the
In 1784 he invented the Nicholson hydrometer, a constant volume hydrometer to measure specific gravity of liguids or solids, with a pan for small weights on top and a small container ("basket") on the bottom into which a sample can be placed.[7]
in 1790, William Nicholson obtained a patent for a cylindrical printing machine[8] - a design which was copied in the US[9] and Barcelona, before Friedrich Konig developed and commercialised the concept in 1814.
In 1797 he founded, published, and wrote part of the
In 1799 he established a school in London's Soho Square, where he taught natural philosophy and chemistry, with the aid of a grant of £1,500 from Thomas Pitt.
In May 1800 he with Anthony Carlisle discovered electrolysis, the decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen by voltaic current. The two were then appointed to a chemical investigation committee of the new Royal Institution. But his own interests shortly turned elsewhere.[11][12] In 1809 he became a first class corresponding member, living abroad, of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands.[13]
Besides considerable contributions to the
Later life
During the later years of his life, Nicholson's attention was chiefly directed to water supply engineering at Portsmouth, at Gosport and in Hammersmith. William Nicholson died in Bloomsbury at the age of 61 on 21 May 1815, attended by Sir Anthony Carlisle.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-7206-1957-7.
- ^ Holcroft, Thomas (1780). Alwyn: or the Gentleman Comedian in two volumes. London: Fielding & Walker.
- ^ Holcroft, Thomas (1781). Duplicity A Comedy, in Five Acts, prologue by William Nicholson. London: G. Robinson.
- ^ Nicholson, William (1784). The Navigator's Assistant, Containing the Theory and Practice of Navigation. London: T. Longman, T. Cadell & J. Sewell.
- ISBN 0198515308.
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Fluids/Nicholsons_Hydrometer/Nicholsons_Hydrometer.html Nicholson's Hydrometer, kenyon.edu
- ^ Patent 1748
- ^ "Was the First Cylinder Press Built in the United States?".
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20153. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Enterprise and electrolysis. Chemistry World, August 2003, Royal Society of Chemistry
- ^ "William Nicholson (1753–1815)". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020.
Attribution:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Nicholson, William (1753–1815)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Largely based on the public domain
Further reading
- Mathematical Gazette8:325–9.
- Sue Durrell (editor). 2018. The Life of William Nicholson, by his Son. Published by Peter Owen.
- Anna Gielas. 2020. "Turning tradition into an instrument of research: The editorship of William Nicholson (1753–1815)" Centaurus. International Journal of the History of Science and its Cultural Aspects 62:38-53.