John Roebuck of KinneilFRSFRSE (1718 – 17 July 1794) was an English industrialist, inventor, mechanical engineer, and physician who played an important role in theIndustrial Revolution and who is known for developing the industrial-scale manufacture ofsulphuric acid.

John Roebuck was born inSheffield, where his father, also John Roebuck, had a prosperous manufacturing business.

After attendingSheffield Grammar School and Dr.Philip Doddridge's academy atNorthampton, Roebuck studied medicine atEdinburgh, where he developed a taste forchemistry from the lectures ofWilliam Cullen andJoseph Black. He finally graduated M.D. at theUniversity of Leiden in 1742. Roebuck started medical practice atBirmingham, but devoted much of his time to chemistry, especially its practical applications. Among the most important of his early achievements in this field was the introduction, in 1746, of leaden condensing chambers for the manufacture of sulphuric acid.^[1][2] Together withSamuel Garbett, in 1749 he built a factory atPrestonpans, in Scotland, for the production of theacid, and for some years they enjoyed a monopoly. Having neglected to take outpatents, Roebuck's was unable to prevent others from making use of his methods as they eventually became known.

Roebuck next became involved in the manufacture ofiron, and in 1759 founded theCarron Company ironworks at Carron,Stirlingshire with Garbett and other partners (Ebenezer Roebuck, Thomas Roebuck, William Cadell, William Cadell and Benjamin Roebuck).^[3] There he introduced various improvements in methods of production, including the conversion (patented in 1762) of cast iron into malleable iron "by the action of a hollow pit-coal fire" urged by a powerful artificial blast. Ebenezer was killed in 1771 in a "melancholy accident: While viewing the works, a huge piece of iron fell on this gentleman, which killed him on the ſpot".^[4] Ebenezer had been a vigorous contributor to the success of the ironworks, and quality declined after his death. Its Royal Navy contracts were cancelled in 1773 and aRoyal Artillery inspection in 1774 found that "on the death of [Ebenezer] Roebuck the Carron Guns had through the carelessness of the workmen very much deteriorated, and the firm lost ground."^[5]

Roebuck had also leased acolliery atBo'ness to supply coal to the Carron Works, but in sinking for new seams he encountered such quantities of water that theNewcomen engine used was unable to keep the pit clear. Hearing ofJames Watt's engine, Roebuck contacted its inventor. This engine also proved inadequate, but Roebuck became a strong believer in its future. In return for a two-thirds share in the invention he assisted Watt in perfecting its details by paying Watt's debts and by providing him with a place to work.^[6] The workplace became known as James Watt's Cottage and was built in a secluded area ofKinneil House as Roebuck was worried about industrial espionage.^[7]

Roebuck's troubles at the Carron Works and the colliery, aggravated by the failure of an attempt to manufacturealkali, brought him into financial difficulties and he was forced to sell his share in Watt's engine toMatthew Boulton in return for cancellation of a £1200 debt. Subsequently, though Roebuck had to give up his interest in the Bo'ness works, he continued to manage them and to reside at the neighbouringKinneil House, where he occupied himself with farming on a considerable scale.

In 1784, Roebuck obtained a pottery from the Cadell family where he pursued his interest in new technologies.^[8]

Roebuck died inEdinburgh in 1794 and was buried at Carriden Churchyard nearBo'ness.^[9]

He was grandfather toJohn Arthur Roebuck.^[10]

• 1764 - Fellow of the Royal Society of London

• Lead chamber process

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911)."Roebuck, John" .Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• "Roebuck, John (1718-1794)" .Dictionary of National Biography. London:Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Roebuck, John".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 450–451.

• 1718 births
• 1794 deaths
• Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
• English inventors
• English mechanical engineers
• 18th-century English medical doctors
• Engineers from Yorkshire
• People educated at Sheffield Grammar School
• People of the Industrial Revolution
• British fellows of the Royal Society

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