Samuel Wilson Parr (1857 – May 16, 1931) was an American chemist and academic from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. A graduate of the Illinois Industrial University (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign), he taught at

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...

after receiving a master's degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

. He was recruited by the University of Illinois in 1891 and remained there for the rest of his career. Parr is noted for his contributions to industrial chemistry, including the identification of the alloy illium, named for the school. In 1928, Parr was the president of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

Biography

Samuel Wilson Parr was born in 1857 in Granville, Illinois. He attended the Illinois Industrial University, graduating as valedictorian in 1884. He edited the ''

Daily Illini ''The Daily Illini'', commonly known as the ''DI'', is a student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 1871. Weekday circulation during fall and spring semesters is 7,000; co ...

'' during his senior year. He then attended graduate school at

for a year, receiving a master's degree in 1895. He apprenticed as an instructor at

in Jacksonville, Illinois, then was named a Professor of General Science there. In 1891, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (the former Illinois Industrial) recruited Parr during a faculty expansion phase. He was named department chair of applied chemistry. From 1900 to 1901, he studied teaching at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

and the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. Parr became known for his work in industrial and engineering chemistry. He formulated methods and standards for industrial contracts. He discovered the alloy illium, an acid-resistant substitute for

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

that found use in

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

s. He also invented the Parr peroxide

calorimeter A calorimeter is an object used for calorimetry, or the process of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Differential scanning calorimeters, isothermal micro calorimeters, titration calorimete ...

for measuring the heat value of coal. He founded what is now the Parr Instrument Company in 1899 which continues to operate today. Parr was the first president of the Athletic Association of the University of Illinois and was known as a skilled

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player.

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

awarded him their Chandler gold medal in 1926. He served a term as president of the

in 1928. Parr founded and was president of the university

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

. He died on May 16, 1931 and was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Samuel Wilson 1857 births 1931 deaths American chemists Cornell University alumni People from Granville, Illinois Presidents of the American Chemical Society Illinois Industrial University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty