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EDITORIAL
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Celebrating 300 years of chemistry at Edinburgh Cite this: DOI: 10.1039/c4dt90035a
Carole A. Morrison and Eleanor E. B. Campbell
DOI: 10.1039/c4dt90035a
Published on 24 March 2014. Downloaded on 16/01/2015 07:49:55.
www.rsc.org/dalton
2013 was a milestone in the history of the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, as it marked the 300th year since the first Chair of Chemistry was established, a position that to this day stands as a symbol of how Edinburgh has seeded modern science across the globe. James Crawford, a native of North Leith, was the first appointment; he viewed ‘Chymistry’ as a separate and wider-reaching discipline than medicine (‘Physick’), to which it owes its origins, making Crawford a pioneer in the teaching of Chemistry. From this unique position, weaving interfaces with Medicine, Physics and Engineering, the growth of chemistry though the 18th and 19th centuries fuelled the industrial revolution and growth of the economy. The School’s achievements throughout this period are impressive. Joseph Black discovered carbon dioxide gas (1754), William Cullen (1759) was the first to demonstrate refrigeration using a pump, Thomas Charles Hope co-discovered the element Strontium (1791–3), William Gregory first isolated morphine hydrochloride (1831) which opened the way to commercial production, Thomas Graham published the Law of Diffusion (1831), Archibald Scott Couper put
forward new theories on the chemical valency and bonding of carbon (1858) and Alexander Crum Brown developed a graphical method for drawing the structure of molecules (1865), still in use today. The School can also lay claim to having the world’s oldest student Chemical Society. Started by Joseph Black in 1785 it is still thriving. The building that the School currently occupies owes much to James Walker, Crum Brown’s successor. By insisting that space be provided for research, for which he was criticised at the time, he founded the Graduate School. The building was planned for easy expansion, insight that has allowed the School to grow and to nurture the next generation of scientists. Today the School carries on the proud traditions of Chemistry at Edinburgh and the research conducted by our staff and students is recognised internationally. The breadth of work undertaken is extensive, with many staff engaged in collaborative projects not just with researchers in the fields of Medicine, Physics and Engineering, a common thread that runs through the School’s long history, but also with Biological Sciences, Mathematics, Geosciences and Art History. Our collaboration with St Andrews to form
EaStCHEM further strengthens research in Scotland and further afield. We are very grateful to RSC Publishing for allowing us to create this collection of papers from staff current and past, and distinguished alumni, whose contributions we also gratefully acknowledge. It stands as a snapshot in time, offering a reflection on the broad ranging discipline that Chemistry has become since its early beginnings. We have also taken the liberty of including four papers from the RSC archive, two of which (by Lyon Playfair and William Gregory) appeared in the very first edition of Memoirs of the Chemical Society of London in 1841, and early papers from Alexander Crum Brown and James Walker, the latter documenting the School’s efforts in the manufacture of explosives during the First World War. They make for fascinating reading. We hope you enjoy reading this collection. Here’s to the next 300 years!
School of Chemistry, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JJ, UK
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014
Dalton Trans.
EDITORIAL
View Journal | View Issue
Celebrating 300 years of chemistry at Edinburgh Cite this: DOI: 10.1039/c4dt90035a
Carole A. Morrison and Eleanor E. B. Campbell
DOI: 10.1039/c4dt90035a
Published on 24 March 2014. Downloaded on 16/01/2015 07:49:55.
www.rsc.org/dalton
2013 was a milestone in the history of the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, as it marked the 300th year since the first Chair of Chemistry was established, a position that to this day stands as a symbol of how Edinburgh has seeded modern science across the globe. James Crawford, a native of North Leith, was the first appointment; he viewed ‘Chymistry’ as a separate and wider-reaching discipline than medicine (‘Physick’), to which it owes its origins, making Crawford a pioneer in the teaching of Chemistry. From this unique position, weaving interfaces with Medicine, Physics and Engineering, the growth of chemistry though the 18th and 19th centuries fuelled the industrial revolution and growth of the economy. The School’s achievements throughout this period are impressive. Joseph Black discovered carbon dioxide gas (1754), William Cullen (1759) was the first to demonstrate refrigeration using a pump, Thomas Charles Hope co-discovered the element Strontium (1791–3), William Gregory first isolated morphine hydrochloride (1831) which opened the way to commercial production, Thomas Graham published the Law of Diffusion (1831), Archibald Scott Couper put
forward new theories on the chemical valency and bonding of carbon (1858) and Alexander Crum Brown developed a graphical method for drawing the structure of molecules (1865), still in use today. The School can also lay claim to having the world’s oldest student Chemical Society. Started by Joseph Black in 1785 it is still thriving. The building that the School currently occupies owes much to James Walker, Crum Brown’s successor. By insisting that space be provided for research, for which he was criticised at the time, he founded the Graduate School. The building was planned for easy expansion, insight that has allowed the School to grow and to nurture the next generation of scientists. Today the School carries on the proud traditions of Chemistry at Edinburgh and the research conducted by our staff and students is recognised internationally. The breadth of work undertaken is extensive, with many staff engaged in collaborative projects not just with researchers in the fields of Medicine, Physics and Engineering, a common thread that runs through the School’s long history, but also with Biological Sciences, Mathematics, Geosciences and Art History. Our collaboration with St Andrews to form
EaStCHEM further strengthens research in Scotland and further afield. We are very grateful to RSC Publishing for allowing us to create this collection of papers from staff current and past, and distinguished alumni, whose contributions we also gratefully acknowledge. It stands as a snapshot in time, offering a reflection on the broad ranging discipline that Chemistry has become since its early beginnings. We have also taken the liberty of including four papers from the RSC archive, two of which (by Lyon Playfair and William Gregory) appeared in the very first edition of Memoirs of the Chemical Society of London in 1841, and early papers from Alexander Crum Brown and James Walker, the latter documenting the School’s efforts in the manufacture of explosives during the First World War. They make for fascinating reading. We hope you enjoy reading this collection. Here’s to the next 300 years!
School of Chemistry, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JJ, UK
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014
Dalton Trans.
