George E. Davis (1850-1907) is regarded as the founding father of the discipline of Chemical Engineering. Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science (e. ...

Davis identified broad features in common to all chemical factories and wrote the influential A Handbook of Chemical Engineering. He also published a famous lecture series of 12 lectures, given in 1888 at Manchester Technical School (which became UMIST). These lectures defined Chemical Engineering as a discipline. UMIST Main Building on Whitworth Street The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England (, ). It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. ...

His lectures were criticized for being common place know-how since it was designed around operating practices used by British chemical industries. At this time, however, in the United States, this information helped initiate new thinking in the Chemical Industry, as well as spark Chemical Engineering degree programmes at several universities in the US.

Davis was born at Eton on 27 July 1850, the eldest son of George Davis a bookseller. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a local bookbinder but he abandoned this trade after two years to pursue his interest in chemistry. Davis studied at the Slough Mechanics Institute while working at the local gas works, and then spend a year studying at Royal School of Mines in London (now part of Imperial College, London) before leaving to work in the chemical industry around Manchester, which at the time was the main centre of the chemical industry in the UK. He worked as a chemist at Brearley and Sons for three years. He also worked as an inspector for the Alkali Act of 1863, a very early piece of environmental legislation that required soda manufacturers to reduce the amount of gaseous hydrochloric acid released to the atmosphere from their factories. In 1872 he was engaged as manager at the Lichfield Chemical Company in Staffordshire. In this job his capacity for innovation flourished. His works included what was at the time the tallest chimney in the UK, with a height of more than 200 feet. Eton is a town in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. ... If youre looking for the TV show, see The Apprentice. ... Royal School of Mines Entrance Imperial College London is a college of the University of London which focuses on science and technology, and is located in South Kensington in London. ... Manchester shown within England Coordinates: , Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region North West England Ceremonial county Greater Manchester Admin HQ Manchester City Centre Founded 13th Century City Status 1853 Government  - Type Metropolitan borough, City  - Governing body Manchester City Council Area  - Borough & City 115. ... The chemical compound hydrochloric acid is the aqueous (water-based) solution of hydrogen chloride gas (HCl). ... Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ... Look up Chimney in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Davis was also instrumental in the formation of the Society of Chemical Industry (1881), which he had wanted to name the Society of Chemical Engineering.

In the entrance to Jackson's Mill, the building that houses the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, University of Manchester, there is a display and memorial to Davis. The 'George E. Davis Medal of the Institution of Chemical Engineers is named in his honour. The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a British professional engineering institution founded in 1922. ...

External Links

• Biography at Chemical archives
• Chemsoc brief biographical details

References

• Don Freshwater, 'Davis, George Edward (1850-1907)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004accessed 30 April 2007. DOI:10.1093/ref:odnb/37345
• D. C. Freshwater, 'George E. Davis, Norman Swindin and the empirical tradition in chemical engineering', Advances in Chemistry, 190 (1980)
• N. Swindin, 'George E. Davis memorial lecture', Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, 31 (1953)