Papers of Thomas Thomson, 1773-1852, chemist

Scope and Content

Correspondence (signed) 1834

Administrative / Biographical History

Thomas Thomson was born in 1773. He received his MD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1799. he contributed articles to Encyclopaedia Britannica, and published System of Chemistry,  1802 . He opened a chemical laboratory for instruction, which was said to be the first ever in England. he invented Alan's Saccharometer. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in  1811 . After visiting Sweden in  1812 , he published an account of his travels there. In  1817 , he moved to Glasgow, Scotland, where he became a lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, and afterwards was appointed Regius Professor of Chemistry. He was a known supporter of Dalton's atomic theory. Among his many scientific publications was An Attempt to Establish the First Principles of Chemistry by Experiment,  1825 . He died in  1852 .

Source: Dictionary of National Biography, (London, 1903).

Arrangement

The arrangement of this material reflects the original order in which it was received

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Purchased, 1960, ACCN 4105

Other Finding Aids

Item level descriptions are available via the department's online manuscripts catalogue available at the University of Glasgow Library, Department of Special Collections  http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/manuscripts/, searching by the call number MS Gen 501/5.

Alternative Form Available

No known copies

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Elaine MacGillivray, Archive Assistant, August 2003

Conditions Governing Use

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Keeper of Special Collections.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents.

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 0247 procedures

Custodial History

Held by Edward Hall until November 1960

Accruals

None expected

Related Material

GB 0058 MSS 34611-17 passim, Letters to M Napier, 1814-1836 (British Library Manuscript Collections). For contact details of all repositories with a GB code, see the  Archon repository search page, at the Historical Manuscripts Commission.

Location of Originals

This material is original

Bibliography

No known publications using this material

Corporate Names