Edward Henry Rennie (19 August 1852 – 8 January 1927) was an Australian scientist and a president of the

Royal Society of South Australia The Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) is a learned society whose interest is in science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia. The major aim of the society is the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, particularly in re ...

Early life

Rennie was born in Balmain,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, the eldest son of Edward Alexander Rennie, who later became auditor-general. E. H. Rennie was educated at the Fort Street public school,

Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...

, and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

where he graduated

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

(1870) and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(1876); there he was influenced by

Archibald Liversidge Archibald Liversidge Royal Society#Fellows, FRS FRSE FRSNSW LLD (17 November 1847 – 26 September 1927) was an English-born chemist and a co-founder of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science. Early life Liversidge was bor ...

. He was a master at Sydney Grammar School for five years and at

Brisbane Grammar School Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...

for about 18 months. He then went to London to study chemistry.

Scientific career

Rennie was assistant to Dr C. R. Alder Wright in the chemical department of St Mary's hospital medical school for two years, did some teaching at the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from t ...

, South Kensington, and graduated

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

Lond. in 1881. Returning to Australia in 1882 he was two years in the government analyst's department at Sydney, and was then appointed first Angas Professor of Chemistry at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. He began his duties in February 1885, and for many years had to work in makeshift conditions. Rennie however, made the best of the position, and also gave much time to the conduct of the university. He was a member of the council from 1889 to 1898, when he resigned because he was leaving Australia for 12 months to study the development of chemical manufacture, and was again a member of the council from 1909 to the time of his death. Between 1924 and 1926 he was acting vice-chancellor. He was also an active member of the council of the school of mines. For 36 years he was a member of the council of the Royal Society of South Australia (president from 1886 to 1889 and 1900 to 1903, and vice-president from 1903 to 1919). He was for a time president of the

Australian Chemical Institute The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) is both the qualifying body in Australia for professional chemists and a learned society promoting the science and practice of chemistry in all its branches. The RACI hosts conferences, seminars and ...

, and chairman of the state committee of the Commonwealth advisory council of science and industry. In August 1926 he was elected to one of the highest offices open to a scientific man in Australia: that of president of the

Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British ...

. Rennie was also a fellow of the Chemical Societies of London and Berlin, and a fellow of the Institute of Chemists of Great Britain and Ireland. Rennie's legacy is evident with the Rennie Memorial Medal, issued annually by the RACI for outstanding research by an early career chemistry researcher.

Late life

Though in his seventy-fifth year, Rennie was still carrying on the duties of his chair, when he died suddenly at Adelaide on 8 January 1927. He married a daughter of Dr Cadell of Sydney, who survived him with a son, E. J. C. Rennie (later a senior lecturer in engineering at the University of Melbourne) and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rennie, Edward 1852 births 1927 deaths Australian chemists Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Colony of New South Wales people Colony of South Australia people