Ambrose Godfrey
Encyclopedia
Ambrose Godfrey-Hanckwitz (1660 – 15 January 1741), also known as Gottfried Hankwitz, also written Hanckewitz, or Ambrose Godfrey
as he preferred to be known, was a German-born British
phosphorus
manufacturer and apothecary
. He was one of the first phosphorus manufacturers and was one of the best and most successful in his time.
Godfrey was born in Nienburg
in Saxony
. In 1679 aged 19 he and his wife travelled to London
where he was to work as an assistant to Robert Boyle
, trying to produce phosphorus. Boyle is remembered as the first chemist, but his earliest interests were in alchemy
, and he wanted to learn about the then new phosphorus. Boyle had employed German alchemist Johann Becher who was in London looking for work. Becher recommended Ambrose Godfrey as an assistant.
Boyle knew from hints given by Daniel Kraft
(when he had demonstrated phosphorus) that it was made from human urine
or maybe faeces, but neither Boyle's first employee Bilger nor then Becher and Godfrey were able to make it. But Becher knew that its first discoverer Hennig Brandt had the secret. Godfrey was sent to Hamburg
to see Brandt and came back with the missing key: that very high temperatures were needed.
On his return Godfrey tried a new batch of urine. He used so much heat that it cracked the retort
, but Boyle saw the residue in the broken container glowed faintly, so they were on the right track. Godfrey's job became making phosphorus for Boyle, and he acquired skill at it. His procedure was the same as Brandt's, namely to boil human urine down to a residue, then heat that strongly to give off phosphorus gas which would condense. Godfrey produced two forms, solid phosphorus (the white phosphorus allotrope), or a mix with oil of urine where it remains liquid at room temperature.
Godfrey was not always careful handling phosphorus, his fingers were often blistered and slow to heal from touching the solid. On one occasion on his way to see Boyle a phial of phosphorus broke and burned holes in his breeches, which Boyle "could not look upon without some wonder as well as smiles".
Initially Becher and Godfrey had got along well and they shared lodgings in Covent Garden
. When Becher's wife arrived in London it seems she took a dislike to Godfrey and there were various disagreements. Godfrey helped the Bechers move to new lodgings, yet Mrs Becher would return to shout abuse and accusations. The worst was when Boyle reduced Becher's salary over lack of success in Becher's alchemical experiments. Becher blamed Godfrey, and Mrs Becher took to following Mrs Godfrey through the streets shouting abuse. But, as Godfrey wrote, "thank God, all in German, that the people understood her not."
By 1682 two years of research had satisifed Boyle's curiosity and Boyle and Godfrey parted. Godfrey was still interested in phosphorus and Boyle helped finance Godfrey's manufacture of it. In 1683 Godfrey named his first son Boyle Godfrey, in Boyle's honour. (He had two more sons, Ambrose and John.)
By 1685 Godfrey had a going business. He had a furnace behind his lodgings and made use of the human wastes from the adjoining Bedford House estate. He advertised phosphorus at 50 shilling
s wholesale
or 60 shillings retail
an ounce
, and was selling all he could make. He'd improved production by melting the final phosphorus and forcing it through a chamois
leather to purify. But his main employment was at Apothecaries Hall
, where in time he became master of the laboratory.
Others tried to make phosphorus too, without success. It was supposed there was a step missing from what Boyle had published in 1682, a step only Godfrey knew. Godfrey had every reason to keep his methods secret, but the essentials were exactly as Boyle had set out. The only extra thing Godfrey knew was that faeces could be used as well as urine.
Godfrey's business grew along with his reputation, and he took on employees, becoming known for producing the best phosphorus available. He sold within Britain
and exported to Europe
. By the early 18th century, Godfrey was thought to be selling as much as 50 lb a year, worth about £2,000, or about £600,000 in today's money. This was not his only business, but presumably the profit from such a turnover was significant.
In 1707 Godfrey was wealthy enough to buy the lease to a new shop in Southampton St where the Bedford House estate had stood. He opened a pharmacy
, and he and his family lived above it. Under the lease he could not carry on "obnoxious" trade there, but the narrow strip of land behind was unrestricted, so he built a workshop there, where he and his staff made phosphorus, and where he gave demonstrations of it.
Godfrey died on 15 January 1741 and his oldest son Boyle Godfrey took over the business. But Boyle dabbled in alchemy, wasted his inheritance
, and had to live on a pension
provided by his brothers Ambrose and John, who took over the business in 1742. Ambrose and John were also unsuccessful and in 1746 were declared bankrupt. The business passed to their nephew, Boyle's son, named Ambrose Godfrey after his grandfather. The younger Ambrose was successful, carrying on the business until his death in 1797, when it passed in turn to his son Ambrose Towers Godfrey, who formed a partnership with Charles Cooke
. The firm Godfrey and Cooke continued until 1915.
But the Godfrey business' dominance in phosphorus did not last. It was overtaken by new methods such as that of Bertrand Pelletier using bones in the 1770s.
as he preferred to be known, was a German-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
manufacturer and apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
. He was one of the first phosphorus manufacturers and was one of the best and most successful in his time.
Godfrey was born in Nienburg
Nienburg
There are two towns named Nienburg in Germany.*Nienburg, Lower Saxony*Nienburg, Saxony-AnhaltThe Name Nienburg means "Neue Burg" ....
in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. In 1679 aged 19 he and his wife travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he was to work as an assistant to Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
, trying to produce phosphorus. Boyle is remembered as the first chemist, but his earliest interests were in alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, and he wanted to learn about the then new phosphorus. Boyle had employed German alchemist Johann Becher who was in London looking for work. Becher recommended Ambrose Godfrey as an assistant.
Boyle knew from hints given by Daniel Kraft
Daniel Kraft
Daniel Kraft, M.D. is an NIH funded faculty member affiliated with Stanford. He was on clinical faculty with the UCSF pediatric bone marrow transplantation service and serves as the medicine track chair for Singularity University where he is also executive director for the FutureMed executive...
(when he had demonstrated phosphorus) that it was made from human urine
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
or maybe faeces, but neither Boyle's first employee Bilger nor then Becher and Godfrey were able to make it. But Becher knew that its first discoverer Hennig Brandt had the secret. Godfrey was sent to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to see Brandt and came back with the missing key: that very high temperatures were needed.
On his return Godfrey tried a new batch of urine. He used so much heat that it cracked the retort
Retort
In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a glassware device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The liquid to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated...
, but Boyle saw the residue in the broken container glowed faintly, so they were on the right track. Godfrey's job became making phosphorus for Boyle, and he acquired skill at it. His procedure was the same as Brandt's, namely to boil human urine down to a residue, then heat that strongly to give off phosphorus gas which would condense. Godfrey produced two forms, solid phosphorus (the white phosphorus allotrope), or a mix with oil of urine where it remains liquid at room temperature.
Godfrey was not always careful handling phosphorus, his fingers were often blistered and slow to heal from touching the solid. On one occasion on his way to see Boyle a phial of phosphorus broke and burned holes in his breeches, which Boyle "could not look upon without some wonder as well as smiles".
Initially Becher and Godfrey had got along well and they shared lodgings in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. When Becher's wife arrived in London it seems she took a dislike to Godfrey and there were various disagreements. Godfrey helped the Bechers move to new lodgings, yet Mrs Becher would return to shout abuse and accusations. The worst was when Boyle reduced Becher's salary over lack of success in Becher's alchemical experiments. Becher blamed Godfrey, and Mrs Becher took to following Mrs Godfrey through the streets shouting abuse. But, as Godfrey wrote, "thank God, all in German, that the people understood her not."
By 1682 two years of research had satisifed Boyle's curiosity and Boyle and Godfrey parted. Godfrey was still interested in phosphorus and Boyle helped finance Godfrey's manufacture of it. In 1683 Godfrey named his first son Boyle Godfrey, in Boyle's honour. (He had two more sons, Ambrose and John.)
By 1685 Godfrey had a going business. He had a furnace behind his lodgings and made use of the human wastes from the adjoining Bedford House estate. He advertised phosphorus at 50 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
or 60 shillings retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
an ounce
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
, and was selling all he could make. He'd improved production by melting the final phosphorus and forcing it through a chamois
Chamois
The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand...
leather to purify. But his main employment was at Apothecaries Hall
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries were members of the Grocers' Company and before this members of the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180...
, where in time he became master of the laboratory.
Others tried to make phosphorus too, without success. It was supposed there was a step missing from what Boyle had published in 1682, a step only Godfrey knew. Godfrey had every reason to keep his methods secret, but the essentials were exactly as Boyle had set out. The only extra thing Godfrey knew was that faeces could be used as well as urine.
Godfrey's business grew along with his reputation, and he took on employees, becoming known for producing the best phosphorus available. He sold within Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and exported to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. By the early 18th century, Godfrey was thought to be selling as much as 50 lb a year, worth about £2,000, or about £600,000 in today's money. This was not his only business, but presumably the profit from such a turnover was significant.
In 1707 Godfrey was wealthy enough to buy the lease to a new shop in Southampton St where the Bedford House estate had stood. He opened a pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
, and he and his family lived above it. Under the lease he could not carry on "obnoxious" trade there, but the narrow strip of land behind was unrestricted, so he built a workshop there, where he and his staff made phosphorus, and where he gave demonstrations of it.
Godfrey died on 15 January 1741 and his oldest son Boyle Godfrey took over the business. But Boyle dabbled in alchemy, wasted his inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
, and had to live on a pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
provided by his brothers Ambrose and John, who took over the business in 1742. Ambrose and John were also unsuccessful and in 1746 were declared bankrupt. The business passed to their nephew, Boyle's son, named Ambrose Godfrey after his grandfather. The younger Ambrose was successful, carrying on the business until his death in 1797, when it passed in turn to his son Ambrose Towers Godfrey, who formed a partnership with Charles Cooke
Charles Cooke
Charles Cooke may refer to:*Charles A. Cooke, North Carolina Supreme Court justice*Charles M. Cooke , North Carolina Secretary of State and legislator*Charles M. Cooke, Jr. , U.S. admiral, commander of the 7th Fleet...
. The firm Godfrey and Cooke continued until 1915.
But the Godfrey business' dominance in phosphorus did not last. It was overtaken by new methods such as that of Bertrand Pelletier using bones in the 1770s.
External links
- Engraved picture of Ambrose Godfrey, at the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
library - Cholera medicine chest by Godfrey and Cooke at scienceandsociety.co.uk