Alexander william williamson biography template

ALEXANDER WILLIAM WILLIAMSON (1824-1904), English chemist, was born at Wandsworth, London, on the 1st of May 18 24. After working under Leopold Gmelin at Heidelberg, and Liebig at Giessen, he spent three years in Paris studying the higher mathematics under Comte.

In 1849 he was appointed professor of practical chemistry at University College, London, and from 1855 until his retirement in 1887 he also held the professorship of chemistry.

Alexander william williamson biography template

He had the credit of being the first to explain the process of etherification and to elucidate the formation of ether by the interaction of sulphuric acid and alcohol. Ether and alcohol he regarded as substances analogous to and built up on the same type as water, and he further introduced the water-type as a widely applicable basis for the classification of chemical compounds.

The method of stating the rational constitution of bodies by comparison with water he believed capable of wide extension, and