Alexander Smith (11 September 1865 – 8 September 1922) was a Scottish

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

, who spent his working life teaching in the universities of

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Biography

He was born at 4 Nelson Street in Edinburgh's New Town, the son of Isabella (née Carter) and Alexander W. Smith, a music teacher. His paternal grandfather was the sculptor Alexander Smith. The family moved to 4 West Castle Road in the Merchiston district while he was young. He was educated at Edinburgh Collegiate School. He studied sciences (later specialising in chemistry) at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He was taught mathematics by

George Chrystal George Chrystal FRSE FRS (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottish mathematician. He is primarily known for his books on algebra and his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Meda ...

, physics by

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait (28 April 18314 July 1901) was a Scottish Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook ''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he ...

and chemistry by

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish Organic chemistry, organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildi ...

. He graduated BSc in 1886. During his university years he showed a keen interest in astronomy and published four papers on the subject. He went to Germany in 1886 for further postgraduate studies and gained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

under Prof Rainer Ludwig Claisen in Baeyer's laboratory in 1889. In 1890, aged 25, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

. His proposers were

, John Gibson, Leonard Dobbin and Ralph Stockman. In 1911 the Society awarded him its Keith Medal for the period 1909–1911. In 1910 and 1911 he published, with coauthor Alan W. C. Menzies, important experimental research on vapor pressures. After moving to the United States, Smith was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

at Wabash College (1890–1894) and later a faculty member at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

(1895–1911). His former student James Bert Garner at Wabash College went on to invent the gas mask. In 1911 he was called to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

to be professor and head of the department of chemistry, and in the same year he held the presidency 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 ...

. He was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1915. In 1919 the University of Edinburgh awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD). He retired due to ill-health in 1921 and returned home to Edinburgh, where he died on 8 September 1922.

Family

In 1905 he married Sarah Ludden, a widow (née Sarah Bowles) from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. They had one son, William Bowles Smith, and one daughter, Isabella Carter Smith.Illinois Biographical Dictionary

Publications

* ''Asteroids and Their Origin'' (1885) * ''Laboratory Outline of General Chemistry'' (1899) * ''The Teaching of Chemistry and

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

'' (1902), with Prof. E. H. Hall * ''Introduction to General

Inorganic Chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with chemical synthesis, synthesis and behavior of inorganic compound, inorganic and organometallic chemistry, organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subj ...

'' (1906; second edition, 1912) * ''General Chemistry for Colleges'' (1908; revised edition, 1916) * ''A Text-Book of Elementary Chemistry'' (1914)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Alexander 1865 births 1922 deaths Scientists from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Collegiate School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish emigrants to the United States American chemists American science writers American textbook writers American male non-fiction writers Columbia University faculty University of Chicago faculty Science teachers Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences