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Alexander William Williamson lecture notebook

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Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

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Alexander William Williamson was born in London, England on May 1, 1824. He studied at the University of Heidelberg, working under Leopold Gmelin and then transferred to the University of Geissen where he worked under Justus von Liebig. Upon receiving his PhD in 1845, he spent three years in Paris studying mathematics with Auguste Comte. In 1849 he was appointed professor of analytical and practical chemistry at the University of London where he remained until his retirement in 1887. He is best known for his work of ethers and the Williamson ether synthesis.

The topics covered in the notebook include the properties of certain metals and the compounds that can be made from them. There are also notes on organic chemistry which were strongly influenced by Liebigs teaching.

This is a hardbound 8.25 x 10 inch notebook containing 140 pages of neatly transcribed lecture notes on blue lined paper. The notes were taken during the lectures of Alexander William Williamson by his pupil Thomas F.H. Green. Notebook has pen and ink drawings included in the margins of the text, some of these drawings are colored.

Bookplate and stamp of the Birmingham Medical Institute.

Method of acquisition--Purchase;; Date of acquisition--2016..

Publisher
Science History Institute Archives

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