James Curtis Booth | |
|---|---|
 1851 photograph of Booth byJohn Jabez Edwin Mayall | |
| Born | 28 July 1810 Philadelphia |
| Died | 21 March 1888 (87 years old) West Haverford, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (1829) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Occupation | Chemist |
James Curtis Booth (28 July 1810 – 21 March 1888) was an Americanchemist who was the melter andrefiner at theUnited States Mint inPhiladelphia for many years.[1]
Booth was born in Philadelphia on 28 July 1810. After schooling atHartsville Seminary,[2] Booth graduated from theUniversity of Pennsylvania in 1829, and later studied at theRensselaer Polytechnic Institute atTroy, New York from 1831 to 1832.[3] He visitedGermany between 1833 and 1835, spending the year of 1833 in ProfessorFriedrich Wöhler's private laboratory inHesse-Cassel, and then spending nine months in the laboratory of ProfessorHeinrich Gustav Magnus inBerlin. For the remainder of his time in Europe he attended lectures and visited manufacturing facilities on the continent and in England.[4]
Booth assisted in theGeological Survey of Pennsylvania in 1836, making the discovery that the mountains that form the middle belt of that state consist of two separate formations. He was head of theGeological Survey of Delaware from 1837 to 1838. He became a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society in January 1839.[4]
Booth opened a chemistry laboratory in Pennsylvania in 1836 for teaching purposes, which gained a strong reputation. As the demand for teaching and chemical analysis increased, he was assisted by Dr.Martin Hans Boyè until 1845. From 1848, Thomas H. Garrett was his associate, and in 1881, the firm becameBooth, Garrett and Blair.[2] It became an important training ground for chemists studying analytical and manufacturing processes.[5]
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According to theScientific American, a course in Booth's laboratory "was considered necessary for the chemist of that time, and was regarded of more value than a college diploma". Students who went on to have notable scientific careers includedJohn Fries Frazer,Richard Sears McCulloh,Campbell Morfit and Clarence Morfit.[4] Booth lectured at theFranklin Institute between 1836 and 1845. In 1843 his book theEncyclopedia of Chemistry was published.[3] In 1845, Booth spent some time inMine La Motte, Missouri mining cobalt, but the venture was not successful.[4]
In 1849, he was appointed melter and refiner in the Mint by PresidentZachary Taylor, working there until he retired in 1887.[3]He and his former pupilRichard Sears McCulloch both invented methods of refining California gold that involved combining the ore with zinc, and the two men agreed to combine their inventions into a single patent, which they sold to an interested industrialist.[6] In 1850, he was appointed a professor by the University of Pennsylvania at their newly created Department of Chemistry as Applied Arts, but his work at the mint only let him undertake his work part-time. However, he continued to teach at the university until 1855.[1] While at the mint he designed a new form of wind furnace for melting the huge amount of gold being mined in California.[3] His analysis of the nickel ores of Pennsylvania led to the use of nickel as a component of the cent issued in 1857.[2]
TheUniversity of Lewisburg conferred the degree of LL.D. on him in 1867, and theRensselaer Polytechnic Institute gave him a Ph.D. in 1884. He was a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society, and was president of theAmerican Chemical Society from 1883 to 1884.[2] Booth married in 1853 and became the father of three children.[1] He died at his home in West Haverford, Pennsylvania, on 21 March 1888.[2]
