John Lane (c. October 1678 – 1741) was an 18th-century doctor and

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

, who is said to have experimented with making metallic

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

, probably without result. He studied at the

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, and medicine at

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

in 1702. He married Elizabeth Pollard, heiress of

Marsh Baldon Marsh Baldon is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire. Since 2012 it has been part of the Baldons joint parish council area, sharing a parish council with the adjacent civil parish of Too ...

, Oxfordshire in 1713, who survived him, only dying in 1771 at the age of 83. In 1694, Lane and John Pollard (possibly his step father-in-law) became partners of Thomas Collins in copper works at

Neath Abbey Neath Abbey ( cy, Abaty Nedd) was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in South Wales, UK. It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw. Tudor historian ...

, but the partnership was dissolved in 1716.L. Ince, ''Neath Abbey and the Industrial Revolution'' (Tempus, Stroud, 2001), 14. In 1717 Lane and Pollard established the

Llangyfelach Llangyfelach is a village and community located in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. Llangyfelach is situated about 4 miles north of the centre of Swansea, just west of Morriston. It falls within the Llangyfelach ward. To the west is open ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

works at

Landore Landore ( cy, Glandŵr) is a district and community in Swansea, Wales. The district falls in the Landore council ward. A mainly residential area, it is located about 2.5 miles north of Swansea city centre. The north-easterly part of Landore i ...

near Swansea, but became bankrupt in 1726,R. O. Roberts, 'Further note on Dr John Lane' ''Gower'' 22 (1972), 23-5. a victim of the South Sea Bubble. His works "near Swansea", held for a long term of years, were advertised for sale in May 1727. The Llangefelach Works were subsequently used by Lockwood Morris & Co. In addition, at some stage he had a stamping mill at

Kidwelly Kidwelly ( cy, Cydweli) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. In the 2001 census the community of Kidwelly returned a population of 3,289, inc ...

, on the site later used for

Tinplate Tinplate consists of sheets of steel coated with a thin layer of tin to impede rusting. Before the advent of cheap milled steel, the backing metal was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture ...

Works. His partner had copper mines in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. Lane seems to have lived at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, where he was practising medicine by 1702. He participated in commercial life there, for example investing in a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

ing venture from there in 1708 and in 1714 in the proposed navigation to Bath, for which see

River Avon (Bristol) The River Avon is a river in the south west of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is a cognate of the Welsh word , meaning 'river'. The Avon r ...

. Despite his bankruptcy, he was able to lease a house in College Green, Bristol in 1728 and continued to practise medicine with a good reputation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, John 1678 births 1741 deaths 18th-century English medical doctors British metallurgists Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford