Campbell Morfit (19 November 1820 – 8 December 1897) was a distinguished chemist from the

United States 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 ...

, co-editor with James Curtis Booth of the ''Encyclopedia of Chemistry'' (1850).

Life

Morfit was born in

Herculaneum, Missouri Herculaneum is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, and is a suburb of St. Louis. The population was 4,273 at the 2020 United States census. The City of Herculaneum was the first county seat of Jefferson County from January 1, 1819, to 1839. ...

, on 19 November 1820 and was educated at the

Columbian University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a private federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress and is the first un ...

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. Before graduating, he began to study chemistry in the laboratory of James C. Booth in

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. He assisted Booth in development of a new method of refining gold, and in 1850 was assigned a share of the patent rights. In 1853 he established a laboratory at Pikesville Arsenal in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where he investigated gun metal, co-authoring a report with James Booth on the subject for the United States Ordnance department. He was the first teacher at the chemical department of the

Maryland Institute The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, it is regarded as one of the oldest art colleges in the ...

, and from 1854 to 1858 was professor of applied chemistry there. He then moved to

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, where he continued to practice chemistry until emigrating to

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 ...

in 1861. Morfit was a fellow of the

Chemical Society of London The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

and the

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. His principal works were ''Applied Chemistry in the Manufacture of Soaps and Candles'' (1847); ''Chemical and Pharmaceutical Manipulations'' (1848); ''A Report of the Progress of the Chemical Arts,'' prepared with Booth for the Smithsonian institution (1851); ''Perfumery, its Manufacture and Use'' (1852–1855); ''Oleic Soaps'' (1871); and ''Mineral Phosphates'' (1873). He and James Booth were co-editors of the ''Encyclopedia of Chemistry'', and he wrote many other books and articles. Morfit died in London on 8 December 1897.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morfit, Campbell 1820 births 1897 deaths American chemists People from Herculaneum, Missouri Chemists from Missouri