John McClellan (1810 – 14 May 1881) was a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

who established one of the first

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

factories in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

, Lancashire, England. John McClellan was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the younger son of Alexander McClellan, a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

, and his wife Jane née Charlton. He started in business in Liverpool as a

drysalter Drysalters were dealers in a range of chemical products, including glue, varnish, dye and colourings. They might supply salt or chemicals for preserving food and sometimes also sold pickles, dried meat or related items. The name ''drysalter'' or '' ...

and in 1847 described himself as a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

borax The BORAX Experiments were a series of safety experiments on boiling water nuclear reactors conducted by Argonne National Laboratory in the 1950s and 1960s at the National Reactor Testing Station in eastern Idaho.

manufacturer and ashes refiner. That year he moved to Widnes and started to manufacture borax there. Later he also manufactured

soda ash Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash, sal soda, and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water ...

, saltcake and bleaching powder. In the 1870s the business failed and in 1879 it was declared bankrupt. McClellan was a member of the Widnes Local Board from its inception in 1865 and in 1869 became its chairman. He died at his home in Widnes in 1881. His

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...

was valued at £81. McClellan married Mary Gaskell, the daughter of a Liverpool cotton

broker A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither ...

, in 1844. They had five children, one son, Alexander, and four daughters. Sarah Jane, their eldest daughter, married

Henry Brunner Henry Brunner (22 January 1838 – 17 June 1916) was an English chemist. Henry Brunner was born in Everton, Liverpool, the elder son of John Brunner, a Swiss Unitarian and schoolmaster, and Margaret Curphey, who originated from the Isle of Man. ...

, John Hutchinson's chief chemist. Alexander joined his father in the business and tried to continue it after his father's death but was unsuccessful.

References and notes

Notes Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:McClellan, John 1810 births 1881 deaths British chemists People from Widnes 19th-century English businesspeople