Arthur Connell FRS

FRSE 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 letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This so ...

(30 November 1794 – 31 October 1863) was a Scottish chemist and mineralogist. The mineral

Connellite Connellite is a rare mineral species, a hydrous copper chloro-sulfate, Cu19(OH)32(SO4)Cl4·3H2O, crystallizing in the hexagonal system. It occurs as tufts of very delicate acicular crystals of a fine blue color, and is associated with other coppe ...

is named after him. He was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 30 November 1794, the son of Sir John Connell (1765-1831), Judge of the Admiralty Court and his wife, Margaret Campbell (daughter of Sir Ilay Campbell, Lord Succoth). His paternal grandfather was Arthur Connell,

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equ ...

. Connell was educated at the High School in Edinburgh and then trained to be an advocate, qualifying in 1817. He studied at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

Universities. His interests moved from law to chemistry and from 1840 to 1856 he was Professor of Chemistry at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1829, his proposer being John Borthwick. He was elected a Fellow of the

in 1855. In 1847 he discovered a new mineral: originally described as a sulphato-chloride of copper, now known as

. He lived at 67 North Street in St Andrews. In later years he was assisted by

Matthew Forster Heddle Matthew Forster Heddle FRSE (28 April 1828 – 19 November 1897) was a Scottish physician and amateur mineralogist active through the 19th century. Life He was born at Melsetter in Orkney, the son of Robert Heddle (1780–1842) and his wife ...

. He died in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...

on 31 October 1863. He is buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping s ...

behind the large red sandstone monument to Rev Peddie on the main east west path above the vaults. The grave is vandalised and the obelisk originally on the monument lies toppled to one side.

Family

He married St James's, Westminster, London 1839 his cousin Elizabeth Camilla Connell (d.1899), s.p.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Arthur 1794 births 1863 deaths Scientists from Edinburgh Scottish mineralogists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of St Andrews Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish chemists