Chapter III: Part 3

Shortly before this, Crompton had married Mary Pimlott, the daughter of a gentleman residing at New Keys Hall, near Warrington. After his marriage he lived in a cottage attached to the old Hall, though he still continued to occupy part of the mansion, in one of whose large rooms he now operated upon the mule with the utmost secrecy and with perfect success, startling the manufacturing world by the production of yarn which both in fineness and firmness had hitherto been unattainable. This seems to have been the happiest portion of Crompton's life. He was then twenty-seven years of age, and the acknowledged inventor of a machine which, from the first hour of its operation, altered the entire system of cotton manufacture in this country. Its merit was universally acknowledged by all engaged in the trade who had an opportunity to examine the yarn spun on it, or the fabrics made from that yarn; but paradoxical as it may appear, the very _perfection of his principle of spinning_, was in a measure instrumental in depriving him of the harvest for which he had so laboriously worked.

The demand for his yarn became so extensive and urgent, that the old Hall was literally besieged by manufacturers and others from the surrounding districts--many of whom came to purchase yarn, but many more to try and penetrate the mystery of the new wheel, and to discover if possible the principle of its operations. All kinds of stratagems were practised in order to obtain admission to the house; and one inquisitive adventurer is said to have ensconced himself for some days in the cockloft, where he watched Samuel at work through a gimlet-hole pierced through the ceiling.

Crompton, at length wearied out, and seeing the utter impossibility of retaining his secret, or of spinning upon the machine with the undisturbed secrecy he desired, yielded to the urgent solicitations, and liberal but deceitful promises of numerous manufacturers, and surrendered to them not only the secret of the principle upon which he spun the much prized yarn, but likewise the machine itself. This he did on the faith of an agreement drawn up by themselves, in which they promised to subscribe certain sums as a reward for his improvement in spinning. No sooner, however, was the mule given up to the public than the subscriptions entirely ceased, and many of those who had previously put down their names evaded or refused payment; some actually denounced Crompton as an impostor, and when he respectfully put before them their own written agreement, asked him how he dared to come on such an errand!

The gross sum of money realized by this subscription amounted to between 50 and 100_l._ Mr. Crompton himself says:--"I received as much by way of subscription as built me a new machine, with only four spindles more than the one I had given up--the old one having forty-eight, and the new one fifty-two spindles." This shameful treatment rested in Crompton's memory through life, and to the morbid distrust of his fellow-men, which it engendered, may be ascribed many of the misfortunes which attended his succeeding life.

About the year 1785 Mr. Crompton removed from the 'Hall-in-the-Wood' to a farmhouse at Oldhams, in the township of Sharples, about two miles from Bolton. Here he farmed several acres of land, and kept three or four cows; while in the upper story of the house was erected his spinning mule, upon which he continued to spin with as much privacy as possible. He was, nevertheless, still troubled by many curious visitors, who were desirous of seeing the improvements he was supposed to have made on it. Among others he received two visits from the first Sir Robert Peel, then an eminent though untitled manufacturer, who came with the hope of inducing Crompton to join his establishment, and on his second visit made him an offer of partnership. It is much to be regretted that this offer was declined, as Mr. Peel's enterprising business character was exactly that most suited for supporting Crompton's great inventive genius. Had these two men continued as partners at this particular time, the successful development of the cotton trade would have been hastened by at least twenty years, while a large and well deserved fortune might have been secured to Crompton and his children.

Excelling all other spinners in the quality and fineness of his yarn, Crompton continued to obtain a high price for all he could produce, but his production was restricted to the work of his own hands, (an increasing family having deprived him of the aid of his wife); for whenever he commenced to teach any new hands to assist him in his work, no matter how strictly they were bound to serve him by honour, by gratitude, or by law, as soon as they acquired a little knowledge and experience under his tuition, they were invariably seduced from his service by his wealthy competitors; so that he was ultimately compelled to renounce the use of his mules, and betake himself to his original occupation of weaving, or at least to spin only such yarn as he could employ in his own looms as a small manufacturer.

In 1800 some gentlemen of Manchester, among whom ought to be mentioned Mr. George Lee and Mr. Kennedy, sensible that Mr. Crompton had been illused and neglected, agreed, without his knowledge, to promote a subscription on such a scale as would result in a substantial reward for his labours. But this scheme, although generous and noble in its intention, in a great measure failed. Before it could be carried out, the country suffered severe distress from a failure in the crops; in addition to this the horrors of the French Revolution approached their crisis; war broke out, and trade was all but extinguished. Ultimately, all that could be realized amounted to about 450_l._, and this was handed over to Crompton to enable him to increase his operations in spinning and weaving.

In October, 1807, Mr. Crompton, in the hopes of gaining the patronage of Sir Joseph Banks, wrote a letter to him, but unfortunately addressed it to Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Society of Arts, and it is probable that Sir Joseph never read the letter, but transmitted it to the Society to which it was addressed; in any case, no notice was taken of this letter, and Crompton's too morbidly sensitive mind thus received an additional wound.

Two or three years after this, his family circumstances became very precarious, and in the undefined hope of yet obtaining some recompense for his labours which might better his position, Crompton, in the year 1811, commenced a statistical investigation into the results of his invention. For this purpose he visited the various manufacturing districts of Great Britain, and, from the information he obtained, calculated that between four and five millions of mule spindles were then in actual use. But this estimate was afterwards found to be much too low, as it did not include any of the numerous mules used in the manufacture of woollen yarn.

A story is told of Mr. Crompton, that, when at Glasgow engaged in collecting this information, he was invited to a complimentary dinner, but his courage was unable to carry him through so formidable an ordeal; and so when the time came for going, to use his own words, "rather than face up, I first hid myself and then fairly bolted from the city."

Mr. Crompton laid the result of his investigation before some kind friends[14] at Manchester, who undertook to draw up a memorial to Parliament on his behalf. But in this matter Crompton's continued ill-fortune was singularly displayed. When the time came for the grant to be proposed to Parliament (May 11, 1812), Mr. Percival, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had intended proposing 20,000_l._ as the sum to be awarded, was assassinated while entering the lobby of the House of Commons. Crompton's petition was consequently postponed, and ultimately 5000_l._ was all that was awarded to the _Inventor of the Spinning-Mule_; and thus, after having haunted the lobby of the House of Commons for five wearisome months, Samuel Crompton went back to Bolton with this shadow of a national reward.

Late in life Mr. Crompton's family became dispersed, and as old age crept on he became less and less fitted for business, and now for the first time sank into actual poverty.

A noble effort was, however, made by some of the inhabitants of Bolton to rescue him from his distressing position, and by their efforts an annuity of 63_l._ per annum was secured to him for the remainder of his life.

In the year 1827 Samuel Crompton's melancholy life came to an end. He died at his house in King Street, Great Bolton, aged seventy-three, of no particular complaint, but by the gradual decay of nature. His body was placed in a grave near the centre of the parish churchyard, underneath a flagstone with the following inscription:--"Beneath this stone are interred the mortal remains of Samuel Crompton, of Bolton, late of Hall-i'-th'-Wood, in the township of Tonge, inventor of the spinning machine called the _Mule_; who departed this life the 26th day of June, 1827, aged seventy-two years."[15]--_The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton, &c., by Gilbert J. French, F.S.A., &c._ Manchester and London, 1860.

JOHN DALTON, D.C.L., L.L.D., F.R.S., L. and E.

MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.

Born September 5, 1766. Died July 27, 1844.

John Dalton was born at Eaglesfield, a small village in Cumberland, near Cockermouth. His father, Joseph Dalton, was a woollen-weaver, and at the birth of his second son, John, gained but a scanty subsistence by weaving common country goods. At the death of his elder brother, however, he inherited a small estate of sixty acres, which enabled him to give up weaving. John Dalton had consequently few opportunities of obtaining a good education; he was emphatically self-taught, and from his very childhood began to acquire those habits of stern self-reliance and indomitable perseverance which in after life, rather than any direct inspirations of genius (as Dalton himself used to affirm), enabled him to work out his grand discovery of the 'Atomic Theory.'

Dalton attended the schools in the neighbourhood of Eaglesfield until eleven years old, by which time he had gone through a course of mensuration, surveying, and navigation. At the age of twelve he began to teach in the village school, and for the next two or three years continued to be partially occupied in teaching and in working on his father's farm. When fifteen years old he removed to Kendal, to become an assistant in a boarding school established there; and, after remaining in this capacity for four years, he determined to undertake, with the assistance of his elder brother, the management of the same school. Dalton continued to be connected with this school for the next eight years, during which time he occupied his leisure in studying Greek, Latin, French, and Natural Philosophy, and was also a frequent contributor to the 'Gentleman's and Lady's Diaries,' two periodicals then in considerable repute. While residing at Kendal, Dalton became acquainted with Mr. Gough, a man who, though blind from infancy, was yet possessed of high scientific attainments. With this gentleman he contracted an intimate friendship, and in 1793 was invited, chiefly through Mr. Gough's favourable recommendation, to join a college, established in Manchester by a body of Protestant dissenters, as tutor in the department of mathematics and natural philosophy. He resigned this appointment after holding it for a period of six years, but continued to reside in Manchester during the whole of his subsequent life.

In September 1793 Dalton published his first work, entitled 'Meteorological Observations and Essays,' the materials of which were, however, collected, and the work entirely completed during his residence at Kendal. A second edition was printed in 1834, and he continued to pay much attention to this subject until within a short period of his death, by which time he had recorded upwards of 200,000 meteorological observations.

In the year 1794 Dalton became a member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, of which, during the course of his life, he filled in succession all the more important offices; including that of the presidentship, which he held from the period of his election in 1817, until his death in 1844. On the 31st of October, 1794, he read his first paper to this Society, entitled, 'Extraordinary Facts relating to the Vision of Colours,' in which he gives an account of a singular defect in his own vision, known by the name of colour-blindness, which rendered him incapable of distinguishing certain colours, such as scarlet and green. He first became aware of this defect in his sight from the following circumstance. When a boy he had gone to see a review of troops, and being surprised to hear those around him expatiating on the gorgeous effect of the military costume, he asked, "In what a soldier's coat differed from the grass upon which he trod," a speech which was received by his companions with derisive laughs and exclamations of wonder.[16] Until Dalton had announced his own case, and described the cases of more than twenty persons similarly circumstanced, this peculiar form of blindness was supposed to be very rare. In the annals of the above-mentioned Society, Dalton published a long series of important essays, among the most remarkable of which are some papers read in the year 1801, entitled, 'Experimental Essays on the Constitution of Mixed Gases;' 'On the Force of Steam or Vapour and other liquids at different temperatures in a vacuum and in air;' 'On Evaporation,' and 'On the Expansion of Gases by Heat.' In January 1803 he read to the same Society an inquiry 'On the tendency of Elastic fluids to diffusion through each other,' and in October of the same year wrote an Essay containing an outline of his speculations on the subject of the composition of bodies, in which he gave to the world for the first time a 'Table of Atomic Weights.' In the following year he communicated his views on the theory of definite proportions to Dr. Thomas Thomson, of Glasgow, who at once published an abstract of them; and in 1808 Dalton himself published the first volume of his new system of Chemical Philosophy, in which he placed the Atomic Theory on a firm and clear basis, and established the law of Multiple Proportions. The value of Dalton's researches on this great subject is immense; by the promulgation of his views Chemistry became for the first time a science, and one great law or theory was seen to govern its actions; before it was a series of separate facts, but by this fundamental law and its branches, and by this only, it is preserved as a science.

Dalton's theory incurred much opposition before it was finally accepted by scientific men, and among the unbelievers in it may be mentioned Sir Humphry Davy. The baronet, however, in the year 1826, clearly acknowledged and accurately defined Dalton's discoveries in his anniversary discourse, when he made known that the first award of the Royal Society's Prize, founded by George IV. in the year before, would be given to Mr. John Dalton, "for the development of the chemical theory of Definite Proportions, usually called the Atomic Theory, and for his various other labours and discoveries in physical and chemical science."

During his later life Dalton continued to gain his living as professional chemist, lecturer, and teacher of Chemistry and Mathematics, and contributed to the advancement of science many valuable papers chiefly relating to Chemistry; he was also accustomed in his analytical researches to use the graduated dropping tube, and may be considered as the originator of analysis by volume. Mr. Dalton was present at the first meeting of the British Association held in York in 1831, and continued to feel a lively interest in its prosperity, and to attend the annual meetings as long as his health permitted him. On the occasion of the second meeting at Oxford in 1832, the honorary degree of D.C.L. was conferred upon him, in conjunction with Faraday, Brown the botanist, and Sir David Brewster. In the summer of the following year, at the meeting of the same society in Cambridge, it was announced by Professor Sedgewick, that the King had conferred on Dalton a pension of 150_l._ per annum, which was increased in 1836 to 300_l._; and as his brother Jonathan died about the same time and left him heir to the paternal estate, he became comparatively wealthy. He, however, still continued working according to his strength, and so late as 1840 published four Essays, entitled, 'On the Phosphates and Arseniates;' 'Microcosmic Salt;' 'Acids, Bases, and Water;' and 'A New and Easy Method of Analysing Sugar.' In 1837-8 Dalton was attacked by paralysis, which greatly enfeebled him; he, however lived till the year 1844, when a third attack occurred, from which he never recovered, but died shortly afterwards in his seventy-eighth year.

Dr. R. Angus Smith thus describes Dalton's mode of life while living with the family of the Rev. W. Johns, of George Street, Manchester, with whom Dalton continued to reside for twenty-six years: "He rose at about eight o'clock in the morning; if in winter, went with his lantern in his hand to his laboratory, lighted the fire, and came over to breakfast when the family had nearly done. Went to the laboratory and staid till dinner-time, coming in a hurry when it was nearly over, eating moderately, and drinking water only. Went out again and returned about five o'clock to tea, still in a hurry, when the rest were finishing. Again to his laboratory till nine o'clock, when he returned to supper, after which he and Mr. Johns smoked a pipe, and the whole family seems much to have enjoyed this time of conversation and recreation after the busy day".--_Life of J. Dalton, by William Charles Henry, M.D., F.R.S., &c._ London, 1854.--_Life of J. Dalton, by Robert Angus Smith, Ph.D., F.R.S., &c._ London, 1856.

SIR HUMPHRY DAVY, BART., LL.D., P.R.S., &c.,

MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, ETC.

Born December 17, 1778. Died May 30, 1829.

This eminent philosopher was born at Penzance, in Cornwall. As a child he was remarkably healthy and strong, displaying at the same time great mental capacity. The first school he ever attended was that of Mr. Bushell, at which reading and writing only were taught. In these rudimentary branches of education he soon made such progress, that he was removed, by the master's advice, to the grammar school kept by the Rev. Mr. Coryton. He was then only six years old. Here Davy received the elements of his education until 1793, when he went to the grammar school of Truro, conducted by the Rev. Mr. Cardew, at which place he continued for about a year.

Both Davy and his family received much assistance from the disinterested friendship of Mr. Tonkin, a respectable medical practitioner at Penzance, who had adopted the mother of Davy and her sisters, under circumstances of deep distress, extending his kindness to all her family, particularly to Humphry.

Soon after leaving Dr. Cardew's school, Davy's father died in 1794; and in the following year Humphry was apprenticed to Mr. Bingham Borlace, a gentleman at that time practising as surgeon-apothecary in Penzance. While yet very young, Davy had exhibited traces of an ardent and inquisitive mind, displaying also a great predilection for poetry; but from this period he directed his attention more particularly to the study of chemistry and natural philosophy. His efforts at attaining an experimental knowledge of the above sciences were, however, greatly retarded by the defects of his apparatus, which was necessarily very limited, and consisted chiefly of phials, wine-glasses, tobacco-pipes, and earthen crucibles. But about this time he had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of Mr. Davies Giddy Gilbert and Mr. Gregory Watt,[17] by whose instrumentality the subject of our memoir was introduced to Dr. Beddoes, who engaged him to superintend a pneumatic medical institution, which that able but eccentric man had just then established at Clifton, for the purpose of trying the effects of gases upon various diseases. This event took place in 1798, Mr. Borlace readily giving up Davy's indenture, which had not as yet expired. During his residence at Clifton, Davy was placed in a sphere where his genius could expand; he was associated with men engaged in similar pursuits, was provided with suitable apparatus, and enabled to speedily enter upon that brilliant career of discovery which has rendered his name illustrious among philosophers.

Soon after he had removed to the neighbourhood of Bristol, Davy's first published paper, on 'Heat, Light, and Respiration,' appeared in 'Beddoes' West Country Contributions.' His earliest scientific discovery was the detection of siliceous earth in the epidermis of canes, reeds, and grasses.

About the same period, he began to investigate the properties of gases, and discovered the respirability of nitrous oxide, giving in a letter to his friend Mr. Davies Gilbert (dated April 16, 1799), the first intimation of the intoxicating qualities of that gas. Shortly afterwards he examined its properties more accurately, administering it to various individuals, and published an account of his discoveries in a volume entitled 'Researches Chemical and Philosophical chiefly concerning Nitrous Oxide and its Respiration.' While the favourable impression from this publication was still fresh on the public mind, the establishment of the Royal Institution, under the auspices of Count Rumford, had taken place, and a lecturer of talent was wanting, to fill the chemical chair. Through the recommendation of Dr. Hope of Edinburgh, with whom he had become acquainted Davy received the appointment, and became lecturer to the institution and director of the laboratory.

It is a singular fact, that although Davy's attention had never been confined to his favourite science, for he had studied general literature as well as poetry, yet he was of so uncouth an exterior and manners, notwithstanding an exceedingly handsome and expressive countenance, that Count Rumford, a leading director of the Institution, on seeing him for the first time, expressed no little disappointment, even regretting the part he had taken in promoting the engagement. But these feelings were of short duration. Davy was soon sufficiently humanized, and even refined, to appear before a London and a fashionable audience of both sexes with great advantage, and by his ingenuity, and happy facility of illustration, he rendered his lectures so popular, that at the early age of twenty-two, he found his company courted by the choicest society of the metropolis. An anecdote is told illustrative of his popularity, even among the more humble classes. While passing through the streets one fine night, he observed a man showing the moon through a telescope to the surrounding bystanders; Davy stopped to have a look, and having satisfied his curiosity, tendered a penny to the exhibitor. The man had, however, in the meanwhile, learnt the name of his customer, and exclaimed, with an important air, that he could not think of taking money from a 'brother philosopher.' Davy's style of lecturing was animated, clear and impressive, notwithstanding the naturally inharmonious tones of his voice; whilst the ingenuity of his happily devised experiments, the neatness of their execution, and above all the ingenious enthusiasm which he displayed for his subject, fixed and arrested the attention of his hearers.

At this time, experimental chemistry began to be the fashion of the day. Voltaic electricity had just been found to possess extraordinary powers in effecting the decomposition of chemical compounds; and by the liberality of the Royal Institution, Davy was put in possession of a battery consisting of 400 5-inch plates, and one of 40 plates, 1-foot in diameter, with which batteries his early and most brilliant investigations were conducted.

In 1801 he made his first important discovery, which was communicated to the Royal Society under the title 'An Account of some Galvanic Combinations formed by an Arrangement of Single Metallic Plates and Fluids,' read in June of the same year. In this paper, he showed that the usual galvanic phenomena might be energetically exhibited by a single metallic plate, and two strata of different fluids; or that a battery might be constructed of one metal and two fluids, provided one of the fluids was capable of oxidizing the surface of the metal. In the following year to this, Davy was appointed professor to the Board of Agriculture, and in 1803 was admitted a member of the Royal Society, of which he became first the secretary, and ultimately the president.

To the 'Philosophical Transactions' of this society he continued to contribute papers on different branches of experimental philosophy; and it is on these papers that his claims to celebrity almost entirely rest. From 1802 to 1805, Davy published several minor papers; but in the following year appeared his first Bakerian lecture, read to the Royal Society in November, 1806, in which he detailed the phenomena of electro-chemical decomposition, and laid down its laws; while in his second lecture, read in the November following, he announced the successful application of these principles, and the discovery of the metallic bases of the fixed alkalies, witnessed by the production of two new metals, which he named potassium and sodium.[18] This splendid discovery was fully confirmed by Guy Lussac and Thenard, who, in the following year, succeeded in decomposing potash by iron filings, in a red-hot gun barrel. From 1808 to 1810, Davy gave three more lectures, in which he announced the results of his further chemical investigations. It may be interesting to remark that the original batteries of the institution were so worn during the course of his experiments, as to be unserviceable; a liberal voluntary subscription, however, amongst the members, in July 1808, put him in possession of the most powerful voltaic battery ever constructed, consisting of 2000 double plates, with a surface equal to 128,000 square inches. The results produced by this tremendous power did not, however, add to science one new fact of any importance. All Davy's great voltaic discoveries were made before it was in use, and it only served to show the phenomena of galvanism with greater brilliancy.

Mr. Davy's reputation was now at its height, and he was invited by the Dublin Society to give a course of lectures on electro-chemical science. For these lectures, which were commenced on the 8th, and concluded on the 29th of November, 1810, he received 500 guineas. In the following year he was invited to give two more courses, on the Elements of Chemical Philosophy, and on Geology, for which he received 750_l._,--the Provost and Fellows of Trinity College also conferring on him the degree of LL.D. In 1812, Davy dissolved his connection with the Royal Institution, by giving a farewell lecture on the 9th of April; on the preceding day he had received the honour of knighthood from the hands of the Prince Regent, and on the 11th of the same month was married to Mrs. Apreece, daughter and heiress of Charles Kerr, of Kelso, and the possessor of an ample fortune. During the next two or three years, Sir Humphry communicated several papers to the Royal Society, but they contained little of importance to science.

Whilst experimenting, in the latter part of 1812, upon azote and chlorine, he was severely wounded in the eye by the explosion of these substances; and it is a strong proof of his energy, that when his eye was sufficiently recovered, he renewed his experiments upon the same bodies, and was again wounded in the head and hands, but this time slightly, as he had taken the precaution of defending his face by a plate of glass.

In the autumn of 1813 he obtained the permission of Napoleon to travel in France, whither he proceeded, accompanied by his lady and Mr. Faraday. From France, Davy proceeded to Italy, where he spent the winter, returning to London on the 23rd of April, 1814. During his stay in Italy, he collected specimens of the colours used by the ancients in their pictures. This formed the subject of a memoir to the Royal Society, the most interesting part of the paper being the announcement that the fine blues of the ancients were formed of silex, soda, and copper, and that they may be exactly imitated by strongly heating together, for the space of two hours, three parts of copper filings, fifteen of carbonate of soda, and twenty of powdered flint.

In the year 1816, Davy turned his attention to a method of preventing the dreadful accidents in coal mines, from explosions of the fire-damp. After considerable investigation, he found that this gas would not explode when mixed with less than six times or more than fourteen times its volume of atmospheric air; and in the course of experiments made for the purpose of ascertaining how the inflammation takes place, he was surprised to observe that flames will not pass through tubes of a certain length or smallness of bore. He then found that if the length was diminished, and the bore also reduced, that flames still would not pass; and further, that the length of the tubes might safely be diminished to hardly anything, provided their bore was proportionably lessened. Working from these principles, he proposed several kinds of lamps, but all were finally superseded by the simple one known as the Davy safety-lamp, in which a small oil light is covered by a cylinder of wire gauze, the small apertures[19] of which flame will not pass through, and the explosion is thus prevented from extending outside the wire gauze. The introduction of this beautiful invention, although freely given to the public, was for a time violently opposed by prejudice and passion. Experience, however, showed the comparative safety which the miners who used it possessed, and the coal-owners of Newcastle and the vicinity presented Davy with a superb service of plate, as some recognition of the important benefit he had conferred on them.

During the later years of Sir Humphry Davy's life, various communications appeared from him to the Royal Society, none, however, presenting any very remarkable features. In November, 1820, a few months after the death of Sir Joseph Banks, he was elected president of the above society. In 1823 he repeated the interesting experiment of Mr. Faraday, as to the condensation of gases by mechanical pressure, and succeeded in converting sulphurous acid and prussic acid gases into liquids, by heating them in strong sealed tubes. During the same year he investigated the causes of the rapid decay of copper sheathing on ships, and attributing this to electro-chemical action, succeeded in preventing it, by attaching plates of iron or zinc to the copper. This, however, on being tried practically, introduced the unlooked for evil, of excessive fouling of the bottoms of ships so protected, which became liable to marine deposits in an equal manner with wooden bottoms. Davy's plan was thus rendered utterly useless, much to his mortification.

During the later portion of his life, Sir Humphry was in very infirm health, and in 1828 he determined to go abroad. Proceeding into Italy, he fixed his residence at Rome, whence he sent his last communication to the Royal Society, viz., 'Remarks on the Electricity of the Torpedo.' The chief peculiarity of this paper was the discovery that the electricity of this curious creature had no effect on the most delicate galvanometer. While staying at Rome, Sir Humphry was seized with a paralytic attack, which greatly alarmed his friends. Shortly afterwards he left Rome for Geneva, on reaching which city an attack of apoplexy seized him during the night, which terminated fatally. The funeral took place on the 1st of June, 1829, with all the honour and respect the inhabitants of Geneva could testify. His remains were deposited in the burying-ground of the city, without the walls, the spot being marked by a simple monument, with a Latin inscription, erected by Lady Davy.--_Life of Sir H. Davy, by his brother, John Davy, M.D., F.R.S._ London, 1839.--_Memoir by Dr. Thomas Trail, Encyclopædia Britannica._--_Weld's History of the Royal Society, with Memoirs of the Presidents._ London, 1848.--_Brougham's Lives of Philosophers._ London and Glasgow, 1855.

PETER DOLLOND.

Born February 2, 1731. Died July 2, 1820.

Peter Dollond, the subject of the present memoir, was the eldest son of John Dollond, the celebrated inventor of the Achromatic Refracting Telescope, who, during the greater portion of his life, was engaged in the business of a silk-manufacturer, in Stuart Street, Spitalfields. Here Peter Dollond was born and spent the early portion of his life. On reaching manhood he engaged in the same occupation as his father, and for several years they carried on their manufactures together in Spitalfields. Peter Dollond had, however, acquired some knowledge of the theory of Optics, and he determined, if possible, to turn the knowledge he had gained to the improvement of himself and his family. He accordingly commenced business as an optician, under the direction of his father, in the year 1750, occupying a small house in Vine Street, Spitalfields. In 1752 John Dollond, who up till then had pursued his original occupation, grew weary of pursuits so little in accordance with the natural bent of his mind, and entered into partnership with his son, in a house near to Exeter Change, in the Strand. Here father and son began and continued that series of experimental researches which, in June 1758, led to the memorable conclusion on which was founded the construction of the Achromatic Refracting Telescope. In the following year a patent was obtained for the exclusive sale of these telescopes, but so limited were the means of the authors of this invention, that, in order to defray the expenses of the patent, they were compelled to sell a moiety of its value to an optician, with whom they entered into partnership. Notwithstanding the great practical value of this discovery, it produced little benefit for some years to the owners of the patent. In 1761 John Dollond died, leaving to his son Peter the task of carrying on the business in partnership with the optician who had paid for the patent. This connection was, however, of short duration, for the conduct of his partner was so unsatisfactory, that in 1763 Mr. Dollond purchased from him his share in the business for 200_l._, the full commercial value of this most important discovery being considered at that time to be worth only 400_l._ Peter Dollond was now in possession of the entire patent, and he was soon called upon to contest its validity with the very man who had so lately been concerned in protecting it. These suits were uniformly decided in favour of Dollond, and although vexatious in their character, were of advantage to him, not only in their immediate issue, but also in extending the name, reputation, and sale of the object whose right of ownership was contested.

Mr. Dollond now began to be more generally known, and made the acquaintance of many of the philosophical men of the time, becoming intimate with Dr. Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal at that period, and with Mr. James Short, a man highly distinguished in arts and science. To this latter gentleman he, in 1765, proposed an improvement in the Achromatic Telescope, which Mr. Short laid before the Royal Society, at the same time signifying that it had his entire concurrence and approval. Among other works of Dollond are an improvement of Headley's Quadrant, communicated to the Royal Society, in 1772, by the Astronomer Royal; and an apparatus for the improvement of the Equatorial instrument, laid before the Society, through the same medium, in 1779.

Mr. Dollond had now earned for himself a well-deserved reputation. In 1786 the American Philosophical Society, unsolicited, and with the approval of Benjamin Franklin, elected him a member of their society.

About the year 1766 the optical business had been removed from the Strand to St. Paul's Churchyard, where it became so extensive and prosperous, that Mr. Dollond took into partnership his brother John. For nearly forty years the brothers resided here, endeavouring, by their cordial and united efforts, to improve and extend each branch of their profession. In 1804 John, the younger brother, died, and in the following year his place was supplied by a nephew, George Huggins, who, on being admitted into partnership, changed his name to Dollond, and eventually succeeded to the whole concern. In 1817 Peter Dollond took up his residence at Richmond Hill, remaining there till June 1820, when he removed to Kennington Common, where he breathed his last, having arrived at his 90th year.--_Memoir by the Rev. Dr. Kelly._

BRYAN DONKIN, F.R.S., &c.

Born March 22, 1768. Died February 27, 1855.

Bryan Donkin was born at Sandoe, in Northumberland. His father, who followed the business of a surveyor and land agent, was acquainted with John Smeaton, the eminent engineer, from having had occasion to consult him frequently on questions relating to the bridges and other works on the Tyne. Donkin early showed a taste for science and mechanics, and when almost a child was to be found continually occupied in making various ingenious mechanical contrivances. He commenced life in the same business as his father, being engaged for a year or two as land agent to the Duke of Dorset. Donkin, however, soon showed the bent of his natural genius by quitting this agency, and going to consult Smeaton as to how he could best become an engineer. By Smeaton's advice, he apprenticed himself to Mr. Hall, of Dartford, in the carrying on of whose works he was soon able to take so active a part, that in 1801-2 he was principally entrusted with the construction of a model of the first machine for making paper, the execution of which had been put into Messrs. Hall's hands by the Messrs. Fourdrinier. The idea of this machine originated with Mr. Roberts, and formed the subject of a patent, which was assigned to Messrs. Bloxam and Fourdrinier. After considerable expense had been incurred, and many trials made with the model, the paper produced was found to be of too inferior a quality for sale. The model remained at Mr. Hall's works for some time, till at length Donkin agreed with the owners to take the matter in hand himself, and for this purpose took premises at Bermondsey (still occupied by his sons). In 1804 he succeeded in producing a machine which, on being erected at Frogmore, Herts, and set to work, was found to be successful, although still far from perfect. A second one, in which still further improvements were introduced, was consequently made the following year and erected at Two-waters; and in 1810 eighteen more of these complex machines were erected at various mills, some of which are even now at work. The practical difficulties having been at length overcome, these machines soon superseded, both at home and abroad, the ordinary method of making paper by hand; and although the original idea was not Mr. Donkin's, still to him the credit is due of having developed, and practically introduced into general use, these most useful and complete mechanical contrivances, by means of which the process of making paper is carried on uninterruptedly from the liquid pulp to the perfect sheet ready for writing or printing.

About the year 1812 Donkin's attention was turned to the subject of the preservation of meat and vegetables in air-tight cases, and he erected a considerable manufactory for this purpose at Bermondsey. Mr. Donkin was also one of the first to introduce improvements into printing machinery. In 1813 he, in conjunction with Mr. Bacon, secured a patent for a Polygonal printing machine, and in the same year invented and brought into use composition rollers, by which some of the greatest difficulties experienced at that time in printing by machinery were overcome. Among other inventions and mechanical contrivances of Donkin's are a very beautiful screw-cutting and dividing machine; an instrument to measure the velocity of the rotation of machinery; and a counting engine: for the two last gold medals were awarded by the Society of Arts. In 1820 Mr. Donkin was much engaged with Sir William Congreve in contriving a method of printing stamps in two colours, with compound plates, for the prevention of forgery; and with the aid of Mr. Wilks, who was at that time his partner, he produced the beautiful machine now used at the Excise and Stamp Offices, and by the East India Company at Calcutta.

Mr. Donkin was an early member of the Society of Arts, and became one of the vice-presidents. From this society he received two medals, one for his invention of an instrument to measure the velocity of the rotation of machinery, and another for his counting-engine.

During the last forty years of his life he was greatly occupied as a civil engineer, and was one of the originators and a vice-president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, which was founded by one of his pupils, Mr. Henry Palmer, and a few other gentlemen, the Royal Charter being obtained by Mr. Telford and himself. He died in his eighty-seventh year, having passed a long life in an almost uninterrupted course of usefulness and good purpose.--_From the Proceedings of the Royal Society_, Nov. 30, 1855.

WILLIAM JAMES FRODSHAM, F.R.S.

Born July 25, 1778. Died June 29, 1850.

William J. Frodsham was born in London, and brought up under the care of his grandfather, a great admirer of John Harrison, the inventor of the timekeeper for ascertaining the longitude at sea. From thus spending his early life with his grandfather, young Frodsham acquired a strong desire to engage in the business of chronometer making, he was consequently apprenticed to a man eminent in that art. Shortly after completing his apprenticeship Mr. Frodsham, in the year 1800, entered into partnership with Mr. W. Parkinson of Lancaster, and hence arose the celebrated firm of Parkinson and Frodsham.

During his entire life Mr. Frodsham devoted himself to the advancement of the art he had engaged in, and being ably assisted by his partner effected various improvements in chronometers, watches, and other timekeepers, and was also the author of a paper on pendulum experiments. Mr. Frodsham lived to an advanced age, surviving his partner by many years. During his career he acquired a large fortune, which he bequeathed to his family, leaving at the same time a sum of 1000_l._ to the Clockmakers' Company, of which he had been Master several times during his life. Mr. Frodsham died at Chatham Place, Hackney, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery.

DAVIES GIDDY GILBERT, D.C.L., P.R.S.

Born March 6, 1767. Died December 24, 1839.

Davies Giddy Gilbert was born at Tredrea, in the parish of St. Erth, in the west of Cornwall. His paternal name was Giddy, his father being the Rev. Edward Giddy of St. Erth. His mother, an heiress of very considerable property, was Catherine Davies, allied to the noble family of Sandys, and a descendant of William Noye, attorney general in the reign of Charles the First. Young Giddy, not being of very robust health, was reared with great care, and his education chiefly superintended by his father, who was an accomplished scholar, and a man of acknowledged ability and attainments.

As Gilbert grew up, it was thought desirable to place him in the grammar school at Penzance; and for this purpose his parents removed for about eighteen months to that town. In 1782 they went to Bristol, where their son's studies were assisted for some time by Mr. Benjamin Donne. In 1785 Gilbert matriculated at Oxford, and became a gentleman-commoner of Pembroke College. He was already master of a considerable amount of mathematical and physical knowledge, the greater portion of which he had acquired by almost unassisted application. While residing at the University he associated with the senior members of his college, preferring their company to that of students of his own age; and considering the natural bent of his tastes, which led him to prefer the study of the severer sciences to the elegancies of classical literature, it is not surprising that such should be the case. Dr. Parr, writing at this time to the late Master of Pembroke, speaks of Mr. Giddy, then twenty-three years old, as 'the Cornish Philosopher,' and adds that he deserved that name.

During his residence at Oxford, Gilbert was a regular attendant at the lectures on anatomy and mineralogy, delivered by Dr. Thompson, at Christ Church. He also attended with assiduity the lectures on chemistry and botany of Drs. Beddoes and Sibthorp, with whom he contracted a friendship, which terminated only with their lives. To the former of these two gentlemen Gilbert subsequently introduced his friend Sir Humphry Davy, at that time in comparatively humble life, but whose extraordinary combination of poetical and philosophical genius had attracted Gilbert's attention, and he thus had the merit and good fortune of contributing to rescue from obscurity one of the greatest discoverers in modern chemistry.

Mr. Gilbert continued to reside principally at his college until the year 1793, when, having previously taken the honorary degree of M.A., he returned to Cornwall to serve as sheriff, and to divide his time, between the cultivation of science and literature, and the duties of a magistrate in a populous and busy town. Previous to this, in the year 1791, he had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, his certificate describing him as being "devoted to mathematical and philosophical pursuits." It was signed by Thomas Hornsby, Savilian professor of astronomy, G. Shuckburgh, N. Maskelyne, George Staunton, and other Fellows. In 1804 Mr. Gilbert became a member of Parliament for Helstone, and at the general election in 1806, was chosen to represent Bodmin, continuing to sit for that borough until December, 1832. He was emphatically the representative of scientific interests in the House of Commons, and was continually appointed to serve on committees of inquiry touching scientific and financial questions. He acted as Chairman of the committee for rebuilding London Bridge, causing it to be widened ten feet more than originally proposed, and he greatly contributed by his exertions to carry many very important public projects, amongst which may be mentioned, the Breakwater at Plymouth, and the bill for the revision of weights and measures, of which he was appointed a commissioner. He was also a member of the Board of Longitude.

On the 8th of April, 1808, he married Mary Ann Gilbert, only niece of Charles Gilbert of Eastbourne in Sussex, under whose will he came into possession of considerable estates in that county; and, in compliance with its conjunctions, obtained permission to assume the name and arms of Gilbert.

Mr. Gilbert contributed several important papers on mathematical subjects to the 'Philosophical Transactions.' In July, 1819, he succeeded Samuel Lyons in the office of treasurer to the Royal Society, which office he retained until elected President in 1828. He was also the author of numerous papers in the 'Quarterly Journal of Science and Arts,' and presented the world with the fruits of his labours as an antiquary, by publishing, in 1838, 'The Parochial History of Cornwall,' in four volumes 8vo., founded on the manuscript histories of Mr. Hals and Mr. Tonkin. Mr. Gilbert was a diligent collector of ancient traditions, legendary tales, songs, and carols, illustrating the manners of the Cornish peasants, and printed various ballads at his house at Eastbourne. He possessed great memory and powers of quotation and anecdote; his conversation has been described as being a continued stream of learning and philosophy, adapted with excellent taste to the capacity of his auditory, and enlivened with anecdotes to which the most listless could not but listen and learn.

"His manners," says Dr. Buckland, "were most unaffected, childlike, gentle, and natural. As a friend, he was kind, considerate, forbearing, patient, and generous; and when the grave was closed over him, not one man, woman, or child, who was honoured with his acquaintance, but felt that he had a friend less in the world."

Mr. Gilbert retired from the chair of the Royal Society in 1830, and two years later from Parliament; he did not, however, resign himself to repose, but continued in many ways still to advocate the cause of science. In 1839 he became much weaker in health and spirits; and although he made a journey to Durham, and afterwards into Cornwall, where he presided for the last time at the Anniversary of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall (of which he had been President since its institution in 1814), he was evidently unequal to the exertions he was making. His last visit was to Oxford, which University had some years before conferred on him the title of D.C.L. From that period he never went into public, but, bidding farewell to London, retired to his house at Eastbourne on the 7th of November, 1839, where he died on the 24th of the following December. His body was borne to the grave by his own labourers, and followed by his widow and family, which consisted of one son (the present J. D. Gilbert, F.R.S.) and two daughters.--_Weld's History of the Royal Society, with Memoirs of the Presidents._ London, 1848.

CHARLES HATCHETT, F.R.S.

Born January 2, 1765. Died March 10, 1847.

Charles Hatchett was born at a house in Long Acre, where his father carried on the business of a coachmaker. He was sent to a school known by the name of Fountayne's, situated in what was formerly called Marylebone Park. On leaving school, Mr. Hatchett continued to live for some time with his father, purposing to follow the same business; he, however, never took kindly to it, but spent the chief part of his time in perusing books of science, or in attending lectures on scientific subjects; and his father, perceiving the bent of his inclination, made him a handsome allowance, to enable him to prosecute his studies.

An amusing story is told by the Rev. Mr. Lockwood, Rector of Kingham, who was an intimate friend of Mr. Hatchett's, that one day he remembered asking Hatchett what first led him to turn his attention to the study of chemistry; he replied, that he believed it was his love for raspberry-jam; for, when quite a boy, he used to accompany his mother to the storeroom, and on one occasion, while as usual entreating for some jam, she locked the door, and putting the key in her pocket, told him he might now get as much as he could. This somewhat nettled the lad, and setting his wits to work, he remembered having read of the power of certain acids to dissolve metals. Young Hatchett accordingly purchased what he thought would suit his purpose, and applying it to the lock of the cupboard, gained an entrance, and carried off in triumph the pot of jam.

On the 24th of March, 1786, when just one-and-twenty, Mr. Hatchett married the only daughter of Mr. John Collick, of Saint Martin's Lane, and shortly afterwards, in company with his wife, visited Russia and Poland, where they remained for nearly two years. On returning to England, Mr. Hatchett established himself in a house at Hammersmith, which he fitted with an excellent laboratory, so as to be able to pursue his chemical studies. On the 9th of March, 1807, he was elected into the Royal Society, his first paper having appeared in their 'Transactions' in 1796; it was entitled, 'An Analysis of the Carinthian Molybdate of Lead, with Experiments on the Molybdic Acid; to which are added, some Experiments and Observations on the Decomposition of the Sulphate of Ammonia.' This paper was followed by fifteen others, on various subjects, exhibiting the extent and research of his chemical investigations. In one of these, published in 1802, and entitled an 'Analysis of a Mineral Substance from North America, containing a metal unknown,' Mr. Hatchett gives an account of his discovery of the metal Columbium.

During the later portion of his life, Mr. Hatchett was often called upon committees, whenever points of chemistry or other sciences were to be discussed. In 1818, he formed one of the commission, comprising amongst others Dr. Wollaston, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir William Congreve, Davies Gilbert, &c., appointed to authorize an inquiry into the best means of preventing the forgery of bank notes; he was also one of the chemists (consisting of Brande, Hatchett, Wollaston, and Young) who met at Sir Joseph Banks's house, to decide on the respective merits of Sir Humphry Davy and George Stephenson, in the matter of the safety-lamp.