William Ramsay
William Ramsay | |
|---|---|
 Ramsay in 1904 | |
| Born | 2 October 1852 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 23 July 1916 (aged 63) High Wycombe, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow (1866–69) Anderson's University, now University of Strathclyde Glasgow (1869)[1] University of Tübingen (PhD 1873) |
| Known for | Discovering noble gases Ramsay grease |
| Awards | Leconte Prize (1895) Barnard Medal for Meritorious Service to Science (1895) Davy Medal (1895) Longstaff Prize (1897) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1904) Matteucci Medal (1907) Elliott Cresson Medal (1913) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Glasgow (1874–80) University College, Bristol (1880–87) University College London (1887–1913) |
| Doctoral advisor | Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig |
| Doctoral students | Edward Charles Cyril Baly James Johnston Dobbie Jaroslav Heyrovský |
Sir William Ramsay KCB FRS FRSE (/ˈræmzi/; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist. Ramsay discovered the noble gases. He also helped discover several elements that are on our periodic table today. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air" (along with Lord Rayleigh).
Between 1894 and 1898, he discovered five new elements.[2] These were the noble gases, helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon.[2] Following these discoveries, Ramsay helped create the noble gases as a new group in the periodic table.[3]
Early life
[change | change source]
Ramsay was born in Glasgow on 2 October 1852.[4] He was a nephew of the geologist Sir Andrew Ramsay. His father, William, Sr., was a civil engineer. His mother was Catherine Robertson. He studied at Glasgow Academy, at the University of Glasgow and at University of Tübingen in Germany.
Ramsay went back to Glasgow as an assistant at the Anderson College. He found a job as Professor of chemistry at the University College of Bristol in 1879.
Career
[change | change source]On the evening of 19 April 1894 Ramsay was at a lecture given by Lord Rayleigh. Rayleigh had noticed a difference between the density of nitrogen made by chemical synthesis and nitrogen isolated from the air by removal of the other known components. He named the gas responsible for this difference "argon".[5]
He was working with Morris Travers, when he discovered neon, krypton, and xenon.[5] He also isolated helium.[5] In 1910, he also created and characterized radon.[6][5] In 1904, Ramsay received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[5]
Personal life
[change | change source]Ramsay was married to Margaret Buchanan in 1881. They had one daughter, Catherine, and one son, William George. William George died when he was 40.
Death
[change | change source]Ramsay lived in Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire until his death. He died in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on 23 July 1916 from nasal cancer (nose cancer). He died at the age of 63. He was buried in Hazlemere Parish church.
Recognition
[change | change source]The Sir William Ramsay School in Hazlemere is named after him.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Thorburn Burns, D. (2011). "Robert Rattray Tatlock (1837–1934), Public Analyst for Glasgow" (PDF). Journal of the Association of Public Analysts. 39: 38–43. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Sir William Ramsay and the noble gases". NIH. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ↑ "William Ramsay". Science History. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ↑ Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002: Biographical Index (PDF). Vol. II. Edinburgh: The Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Sir William Ramsay". Nobel Prize.org. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ↑ W. Ramsay and R. W. Gray (1910). "La densité de l'emanation du radium". C.R. Hebd. Séances Acad. Sci. 151: 126–128.
Other websites
[change | change source]
- Nobel Lecture Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine The Rare Gases of the Atmosphere from Nobelprize.org website
- Biography Archived 2006-04-27 at the Wayback Machine Biography from Nobelprize.org website
- Sir William Ramsay School Archived 2013-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Ramsay biography
- Chemical achievers Archived 2010-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
- Eponymous school Archived 2013-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
- NNDB Biography
- Web genealogy article on Ramsay Archived 2010-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Chemical genealogy[permanent dead link]
- victorianweb biography
- chemeducator biography Archived 2010-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
- 7/23/1904;This Photograph of Sir William Ramsay Was Taken in His Laboratory Specially for the Scientific American Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine