Bartholomew Sikes (died 1803)
was an officer in the employ of
HM Excise who in the late 18th century perfected a device by which the alcoholic content of a liquid can be measured.
In 1802 he presented his invention to a board of inquiry together with nine other competitors who included
Mary Dicas of Liverpool whose hydrometer was the approved instrument by the American excise. Sikes' device was chosen over the other nine.
The success of the device caused his name to be immortalised in an Act of Parliament: Sikes' Hydrometer Act 1816 (
56 Geo. 3. c. 140). From 1816 until 1980 the
hydrometer
A hydrometer or lactometer is an instrument used for measuring density or relative density of liquids based on the concept of buoyancy. They are typically Calibration, calibrated and Graduation (instrument), graduated with one or more scales suc ...
was the standard used in the UK to measure the
alcohol proof of
spirits, and from 1846 in Canadian law.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikes, Bartholomew
British scientific instrument makers
1803 deaths
1816 in British law
1846 in Canadian law