Bryan Higgins (1741 – 1818) was an Irish

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the developme ...

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 ...

. He was born in Collooney,

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. His father (d. 1777) was also called Dr. Bryan Higgins. Higgins entered the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

in 1765, whence he qualified as a doctor of

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 ...

. He subsequently ran a School of Practical

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 ...

at 13 Greek Street,

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

during the 1770s, which was patronised by the then

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

amongst others. He was more of a speculator than an experimenter, and published many works on chemistry and related disciplines.

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

was an attendee of Higgins's lectures, but the two became enemies following a dispute over experiments on air (Priestley at the time was working on his six-volume tome '' Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air''). At some point between 1780 and 1790, Higgins visited

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

at the favour of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

, Empress of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He returned to London in January 1794 to continue his lectures at the School of Practical Chemistry. In 1779, Higgins obtained a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

for a cheap and durable

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

, "...composed of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

and lime, and a certain proportion of bone-ashes, the lime being slaked with limewater instead of common

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

, and the

mixture In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different chemical substances which can be separated by physical method. It is an impure substance made up of 2 or more elements or compounds mechanically mixed together in any proporti ...

made use of as rapidly as possible after being made". In 1797, Higgins was hired by a public committee in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

for the improvement of the manufacture of muscovado and rum. He resided in Jamaica from 1797 to 1799. According to Higgins's atomic theory, central particles were surrounded by atmospheres of caloric, a model that was similar to the ideas adopted by

John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...

. It has been argued that Dalton knew of, and was influenced by, Higgins's theories, although Dalton never acknowledged Higgins's anticipation of his caloric model. Higgins died at his estate in Walford,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England, in 1818.

Published works

*Higgins, Bryan; (1776). ''A Philosophical Essay concerning

Light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

'', vol i, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1775 - 1776). ''Experiments on the Freezing of Sea Water'', appended to the Hon. Duines Barrington's ''The probability of reaching the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

'', 4to, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1780). ''Experiments and Observations made with the view of improving the Art of composing and applying calcareous Cements, and of preparing Quicklime. Theory of these, and Specification of the Author’s cheap and durable Cement for Building, Incrustation, or

Stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ing, and artificial Stone'', London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1786). ''Experiments and Observations relating to Acetous Acid, fixable Air, Dense Inflammable Air, Oils and

Fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

, the Matter of

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

and

, Metallic Reduction,

Combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...

Fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

Putrefaction Putrefaction is the fifth stage of death, following pallor mortis, livor mortis, algor mortis, and rigor mortis. This process references the breaking down of a body of an animal Post-mortem interval, post-mortem. In broad terms, it can be view ...

, Respiration, and other subjects of Chemical Philosophy'', 1 vol, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1786). ''An analysis of the Tilbury alternative water at West Tilbury Hall, recently made at the instance of Mr. John Ellison, by Bryan Higgins, M.D. With an account of the remarkable and extraordinary cases of Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Nash, and of its efficacy in effecting their cure'', London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1788). ''Synopsis of the Medicinal Contents of the most noted Mineral Waters, analysed by Dr. Higgins at the instance of John Ellison'', 8vo, London. *Higgins, Bryan; (1795). ''Minutes of the Society for Philosophical Experiments and Conversations'' *Higgins, Bryan; (1797 - 1800). ''Observations and Advices'', 2pts., 8vo, St Jago se la Vega.

References

External links

* *(1849). " The Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical Science; consisting of Original Communications, Reviews, Retrospects, and Reports, including the latest discoveries in medicine, surgery, and the collateral sciences". Hodges and Smith, Grafton Street, Dublin.
"Scholarly Societies Project - Society for Philosophical Experiments and Conversations"
Retrieved August 17, 2005. *Higgins, Bryan (1780
''Experiments and observations made with the view of improving the art of composing and applying calcareous cements &c.''
- digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library
Syllabus of Doctor Higgin's Course of Philosophical, Pharmaceutical, and Technical Chemistry
From the Rare Book and Special Collection Division at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Bryan Irish philosophers Natural philosophers People from Collooney 1741 births 1818 deaths Scientists from County Sligo 18th-century Irish chemists 19th-century Irish chemists