Letter from Lyon Playfair to Richard Owen
TitleLetter from Lyon Playfair to Richard Owen
ReferenceMS0247
Level of descriptionfonds
Date22 June 1857
Admin./ biographical historyLyon Playfair was a Politician and a Chemist. In 1843, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Manchester Institution. He was a Member of the Royal Commission on sanitation, and received a grant to study the efficiency of charcoal iron furnaces. He moved to London in 1845 becoming Chemist to the Geological Survey, and worked on various research assignments for the crown and the government, including trying to combat a series cholera epidemic. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1848. In November 1851, Playfair was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the new government-run School of Mines, and undertook a tour of various universities to research the available arts and sciences education in Europe. In 1853 he was appointed Secretary for Science in the new Department of Science and Art (DSA).
For more information on Playfair's life and career, please visit his profile on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1006509?rskey=KWRoBN&result=1.
For more information on Playfair's life and career, please visit his profile on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1006509?rskey=KWRoBN&result=1.
Scope and ContentLetter from Lyon Playfair to Richard Owen dated 22nd June 1851, regarding the examination of a specimen of charcoal.
Extent1 item
LanguageEnglish
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Persons keyword Sir Richard Owen, 1804-1892, Knight, naturalist
SubjectCharcoal