Chairman:
Prof A Dronsfield, School of Education, Health and Sciences, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB England. E-mail: A.Dronsfield@derby.ac.uk
Secretary:
Prof W P Griffith, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AY, England. E-mail: w.griffith@ic.ac.uk
Treasurer:
Dr J A Hudson, Graythwaite, Loweswater, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 0SU, England. E-mail: johnhudson25@hotmail.com
Newsletter Editor:
Dr V Quirke, 16 Drayton Road, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxon, OX10 7PJ England. E-mail: vquirke@brookes.ac.uk
The Historical Group exists to encourage an interest in the history of chemistry and chemical industry among members of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and others. Membership is open to non-members of the RSC and embraces a wide range from those whose interest in the history of chemistry is a hobby to teachers of chemistry at all levels and professional historians.
The Group holds twice yearly meetings when academic papers are read and discussed. Summaries of papers read at these meetings are included in the Historical Group Newsletter along with reviews of recent books in the subject and news of other meetings and forthcoming events. The Newsletter is published twice yearly. Contributions of not more than 500 words on topics of current interest in the history of chemistry are invited for inclusion at the discretion of the Editor. The contents of the last issue, February 2006, are given below.
The Group maintains contact with colleagues in the Historical Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society and the Federation of European Chemical Societies.
How to join the Historical Group:
If you are a member of the RSC you should contact the Membership Department (01223 432141) quoting your name and membership number. When you have done this please inform the Group's Membership Secretary, Dr John Hudson, on 01946 861555; johnhudson25@hotmail.com The annual subscription is currently £10 which will be collected by the RSC. Those who are not qualified to join the RSC but who are interested in the history of chemistry are welcome to join the Group at an annual subscription of £12 per annum. Please send your name, address, phone number, email address and a cheque for £12 made out to "The Royal Society of Chemistry Historical Group" to Dr John Hudson, Graythwaite, Loweswater, Cockermouth, Cumbria CA13 0SU. All members of the Group receive the Newsletter.
The next meeting on "Chemists and the Law" will be held starting at 10.15 am on Friday, 23 October 2009 at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BA [Click here for a map of the location of Burlington House which is labelled "The Royal Acad of Arts" (As well as the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House also contains the Geological Society, Linnean Society, Royal Astronomical Society and Society of Antiquaries)].
| 10.45 | Reception and Coffee |
| 10.30 | Welcome by Alan Dronsfield (Chairman RSC Historical Group) |
| 10.50 | Introduction Peter Reed (Organiser of meeting) |
| 11.00 | Prof. Frank James (Royal Institution) |
| 'An old practitioner at the bar': Michael Faraday in the Courtroom | |
| 11.35 | Peter Reed (Leominster, Herefordshire) |
| Robert Angus Smith - A traumatised expert witness | |
| 12.10 | Dr Cassie Watson (Oxford Brookes University) |
| Forensic chemists in English trials for criminal poisoning, 1750-1950 | |
| 12.45 | Discussion |
| 13.00 | Lunch: this is not provided but there are many cafés and bars close by |
| Chairman: Peter Reed | |
| 14.00 | Dr Anna Simmons (UCL) |
| From adulteration to pharmacopoeias: The Society of Apothecaries and the regulation of drugs prior to the 1852 Pharmacy Act | |
| 14.35 | Mike Saltmarsh (Inglehurst Foods) |
| Buyer beware - food law before 1900 | |
| 15.10 | Tea Break |
| Chairman: Professor Jack Betteridge | |
| 15.30 | Dr Roger King (Key Forensic Services Limited) |
| From Sherlock Holmes to CSI - Developments in Forensic Chemistry in the 20th Century | |
| 16.15 | David Jarratt-Knock (Key Forensic Services Limited) |
| Modern Day Forensic Science - Crime Scene to Court Case | |
| 17.00 | Closing remarks |
| 17.15 | Close of Meeting |
The meeting is free but seating is limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Please register (email preferred) to Bill Griffith (w.griffith@ic.ac.uk) before Friday, 16 October 2009 or write to Prof. W. P. Griffith, Dept. of Chemistry, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ by Monday, 12 October 2009.
The Library & Information Centre, Historical Chemistry Information Service.
The Chemical Heritage Foundation.
The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry.
Reprints of classic chemical papers and dictionary of archaic terms.
Some Books on the History of Chemistry in German.
Links to ~50 full or partial texts of scientific books or articles published since 400 BC.
Chemistry and Humanities bibliography
1260 titles on the philosophy of chemistry
Details of Nobel Prize winners; portraits; and other details.
List of Nobel Prize winners for Chemistry.
Chemical Heritage Foundation collection of biographical sketches.
Virtual Library of Resources for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine.
Details of Persons interested in the History of Phamacy.
The History of Chemical Engineering.
Historic samples and specimens from the Chemistry Department, Imperial College, London.
There is a History of Chemistry Mail List or email chem-hist-request@mailman.uni-regensburg.de
To send messages email chem-hist@mailman.uni-regensburg.de
Contents
From the Editor
News and Updates
Royal Society of Chemistry Historical Group AGM Agenda
2011 International Year of Chemistry
News from the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF)
Useful websites and addresses
Short Essays
Chemistry and its relations in nineteenth-century Oxford, J.S. Rowlinson
RSC National Historical Chemical Landmark
RSC National Chemical Landmark Award, AstraZeneca (Alan Dronsfield)
RSC National Chemical Landmark Award at UCL (Bill Griffith)
Book Reviews
The Dyson Perrins Laboratory and Oxford Organic Chemistry 1916-2004. Rachel Curtis, Catherine Leith, Joshua Nall and John Jones (eds)(John Nicholson)
Meeting and Conference Reports
Conservation in Context (Bill Griffith and Alan Dronsfield)
Chemists in non-Chemical Industries (John Hudson)
Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
Pharmacy in History
American Chemical Society - Division of the History of Chemistry
Meetings of the RSC Historical Group
Other Meetings
The 7th ICHC and the 23rd ICHST
Oxford History of Chemistry Seminars
Contents of previous Newsletters
Biographies of Chemists including Confusing Names 1-3 from Newsletters 1998-9
Return to Royal Society of Chemistry home page.