William Durham (chemist)
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William Durham FRSE (8 November 1834-23 January 1893) was a Scottish chemist, papermaker, astronomer and academic author.
Life[edit]
He was born in Edinburgh in November 1834, probably the son of James Durham, a stationer at 9 Blair Street in the Old Town.[1] William is known to have attended the High School in Edinburgh. He was originally apprenticed to the publisher Adam Black and appears to here have gained an interest in paper-making and the chemistry of paper.
In 1874 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Peter Guthrie Tait, William Lindsay Alexander, Sir James Donaldson and Stevenson Macadam.[2]
Durham was a member of the British Astronomical Association. He had a private laboratory and observatory at Glenesk House in Loanhead south of Edinburgh, but lived at Seaforth House, 16 Straiton Place in Portobello.[3]
He died at home on Straiton Place on 23 January 1893. He is buried in Portobello Cemetery in eastern Edinburgh. The grave lies in an inner grass area, south-east of the entrance, slightly north of the grave on the eastern path to Stevenson Macadam.
Family[edit]
He was married to Mary Helen Durham who died on Christmas Day 1928.
Their children included Frederick William Durham (d.1927) and Margaret Elizabeth Durham (d.1872).
Publications[edit]
- On Solutions (1887)
- Evolution, Antiquity of Man, Bacteria etc (1890)
- Astronomy: Sun, Moon, Stars etc. (1891)
References[edit]
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1834-35
- ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X.
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1891-92