J. R. Partington | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Riddick Partington 30 June 1886 Bolton, England |
| Died | 9 October 1965(1965-10-09) (aged 79) Northwich, England |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester (BS,MA,PhD) |
| Spouse | Marian Jones |
| Children | 3 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | History of science, Chemistry |
| Doctoral students | Frederick Ernest King |
James Riddick Partington (30 June 1886 – 9 October 1965) was a Britishchemist and historian of chemistry who published multiple books and articles in scientific magazines. His most famous works wereAn Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry (five volumes) andA History of Chemistry (four volumes), for which he received theDexter Award and theGeorge Sarton Medal.
Partington was a fellow and council member of theChemical Society of London as well as the first president of theSociety for History of Alchemy and Early Chemistry when it was founded in 1937. The society founded the Partington Prize in his memory in 1975.[1] He was president of theBritish Society for the History of Science from 1949 to 1951.[2][3]
Partington was born on 30 June 1886 in the small village of Middle Hulton, south ofBolton, Lancashire. His mother, from whom he took his middle name, was a Scottish tailoress and his father was a book keeper. His family moved to Southport when he was young, allowing him to attend the Southport Science and Art School. In 1901 when he was 15, his family moved back to Bolton and Partington worked at several jobs before getting accepted into theUniversity of Manchester in 1906.[4] In Manchester, he attained a bachelor's degree in science followed by a master's degree in chemistry. While attending the University he was made a University Scholar and earned his teaching certificate. He was awarded an1851 Research Fellowship from theRoyal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851,[5] and worked for several years withWalther Nernst in Berlin, where they studied the specific heat of gases. In 1913, Partington returned to Manchester to lecture on chemistry.
It was there that Partington met a student named Marian Jones whom he taught and supervised for a master's degree insupersaturated solutions.[6] Partington married her after the war on 6 September 1919. She went on to become a chemistry teacher before giving birth to two daughters and one son, who also became a chemist.[7]
Partington joined the army in 1914 asWorld War I began in Eastern Europe. He was first assigned to work withEric Rideal on the purification of water for troops on theSomme. Later the two chemists turned to the question of the oxidation of nitrogen to form nitric acid and investigated the Haber-Bosch process that the Germans were pursuing. Thus, he was transferred to a group led byFrederick G. Donnan, which worked on the production ofnitric acid for munitions. Captain Partington was appointed aMember of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Military Division for this latter work. Outside his war work for the government, Partington managed to continue withthermodynamics, joining theFaraday Society in 1915. In 1919 he presented a major review of the literature on thedilution law to the Faraday Society, to whose Council he was elected that same year.[8]
After the war came to an end in 1919, he returned to the University of Manchester to get his doctorate and was appointed professor of chemistry atQueen Mary College, London which he remained until 1951.
While teaching, studied the theories of strongelectrolytes as well the temperature dependence ofspecific heats. He also began writing several articles and books on the subject that were later published.
With the outbreak ofWorld War II in 1939, Partington's department was evacuated toCambridge. Partington spent his war days studying and reading at the university's copyright library. Although accommodations had been made for families of staff, his wife stayed at their home inWembley. She committed suicide in March 1940 and Partington was a widower for the remainder of his life.[9]
After the war, Partington returned to London where he devoted his time to complete his most famous works, the five-volumeAn Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry and the four volumeA History of Chemistry. Professor Partington collected a considerable library of works on the history of alchemy and chemistry which is preserved in theJohn Rylands Library.[10]
He retired in 1951 to a house in Mill Road, Cambridge, and was looked after by an aged housekeeper. The house was filled with books from cellar to roof. According to Joseph Needham, he became something of a recluse, rarely stirring from his writing desk.[11] In 1961 Partington received theDexter Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry from theAmerican Chemical Society[12] for his numerous articles and books on the history of chemistry, particularly his multi-volumeA History of Chemistry. In 1965 he was awarded theGeorge Sarton Medal, the most prestigious award of theHistory of Science Society.[13]
At the end of 1964, following his housekeeper's retirement, unable to look after himself, he joined relatives in the salt-mining town ofNorthwich in Cheshire, where he died on 9 October 1965.[14] His extensive library and collections were donated to theManchester University Library.
Partington was a key figure in the fields of history of science and chemistry in the beginning half of the 20th century. He regularly published multiple papers a year on a variety of topics including inorganic and physical chemistry. He worked meticulously to get everything as close to perfect as possible in his experiments as well as his writings. Many describe him as a highly gifted scholar who had an "encyclopedic mind", that gave excellent training to his students from around the world. His works remain useful as they laid the groundwork for physical chemistry moving forward after both World Wars.
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