John Edwin MacKenzie

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". ...

OBE (1868-1955) was a Scottish chemist.

Life

He was born in

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

on 31 August 1868. He was educated at Larchfield Academy in Helensburgh, where his father was headmaster. He studied chemistry at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to doctorate level. This included a period of research with Professor Fittig in Strasburg. In 1894 he became Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Heriot-Watt College. In 1897 he moved to

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

in London as Head of Chemistry. MacKenzie received his DSc from the University of Edinburgh in 1901. In 1905 he moved to

Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) is a state funded college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Founded in 1887 and formerly known as the Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, it adopted its present name on 26 January 1997. VJTI ...

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. This did not suit him and he returned to Britain in 1907 and began lecturing at the

. From 1908 to 1922 he served as a Major in the Officer Training Corps of the University. In 1916 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, Leonard Dobbin,

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, ...

and Arthur Robinson. He served as Curator to the Society’s collections from 1939 to 1949 and as Secretary 1950 to 1953. He retired in 1938 and died in Edinburgh on 5 February 1955.

Publications

*''The Sugars and their Simple Derivatives'' (1913)

Family

He was married with two sons.

References

1868 births 1955 deaths People from Helensburgh 19th-century Scottish chemists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh People educated at Larchfield Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish chemists Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{UK-chemist-stub