Benjamin Dawson Porritt

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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

FIC FIP FIRI (26 January 1884 – 28 January 1940) was an early 20th century British chemist and academic author, specialising in the use of

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

. In authorship he is known as B. D. Porritt. He was a keen yachtsman and rugby player.

Life

He was born on 26 January 1884 at Turtle Mountain in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He was the son of Herbert Thomas Porritt, from

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which now houses the Leeds Industrial ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in Britain. His family returned to Britain soon after his birth and he was educated at Whitgift Grammar School in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

in London. In 1903 he entered

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

studying Chemistry. He graduated BSc in 1906. He then proceeded to gain an MSc and began research with Sir

William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements ...

and Sir Norman Collie. Around 1909 he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

as a chemist to the North British Rubber Company who had huge works in the

Fountainbridge Fountainbridge is a former industrial district in Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the Old Town. It is built around the street of the same name, which begins at the West Port and continues (as Dundee Street) towards Gorgie and Da ...

district (mainly making

Wellington boots A Wellington boot, often shortened to welly, and also known as a gumboot, rubber boot, or rain boot, is a type of waterproof boot made of rubber. Originally a type of leather riding boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military foot ...

and rubber hot water bottles). He was promoted to Senior Chemist in 1912. In 1916 he became Research Superintendent. In 1919 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

. His proposers were Sir James Walker, Alexander Lauder, Sir

Edmund Taylor Whittaker Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker (24 October 1873 – 24 March 1956) was a British mathematician, physicist, and historian of science. Whittaker was a leading mathematical scholar of the early 20th century who contributed widely to applied mathemat ...

and

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

. In 1920 he moved back to Croydon taking on the role of Director of the newly formed Research Association of the British Rubber and Tyre Manufacturers. He received the

Colwyn Medal Colwyn may refer to: Wales * Colwyn Bay – town in north Wales ** Bay of Colwyn Town Council – town council in north Wales * Colwyn (district) – former district and borough in north Wales ** Colwyn Borough Council – former council in north W ...

for services to Chemistry in 1938. He remained in this post until his death, which occurred in

, London, on 28 January 1940, a few days after his 56th birthday.

Family

He was married with two daughters.

Publications

*''The Chemistry of Rubber'' (1913) *''The Rubber Industry - Past and Present'' (1919) *''Rubber and Engineering'' (1925) *''Rubber and its Uses in Building Works'' (1926) *''Volatile Oxidation Products of

Bolata Bolata () is a small cove and Nature reserve located in the Northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Bolata is a locality located in the bay of the same name and is part of the Kaliakra Reserve. It is located in the northern part of the Bulgarian Blac ...

'' (1927) *''Sound Absorption of Rubber Flooring'' (1932) *''Rubber: Physical and Chemical Properties'' (1935)

References

1884 births 1940 deaths British chemists Rubber Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Canadian emigrants to the United States {{UK-chemist-stub