A Thomas Annan photograph of a portrait of Thomas Thomson (1773-1852). The painting was by John Graham-Gilbert. In 1818 Thomson became Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, a post he held until his death.
Thomson graduated MD from the University of Edinburgh in 1799. As a young man he contributed many articles for the Encyclopaedia Britannica and was an editor, 1796-1800. He became a chemist and earned a reputation across Europe for his work. He introduced the use of symbols in chemical science. He investigated malting and the production of whisky for the British government, which was attempting to impose tighter Excise legislation, and he invented the instrument known as Allan’s Saccharometer. He was the author of Systems of Chemistry (1802) and other influential scientific works as well as a critically acclaimed history of the Royal Society.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 920.041435 COR
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
Allan's Saccarometer, Annals of Philosophy, chemical symbols, Chemistry, chemists, distilling, Excise, History of the Royal Society, portraits, Professors, Systems of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, whisky distillation
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