Bertram Steele
Encyclopedia
Bertram Dillon Steele FRS
(30 May 1870 – 12 April 1934) was an Australia
n scientist, foundation professor of chemistry at the University of Queensland
.
, England
, the son of Samuel Madden Steele, a surgeon, and his wife Hariette Sarah, née Acock. Steele was educated at the Plymouth Grammar School; he then began an apprenticeship with his father. Steele migrated to Australia in 1889, where he qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist
at the Victorian College of Pharmacy
. He then practised as a pharmacist.
in 1896, being then nearly 26 years of age, and did such distinguished work that when still only a second year student he was appointed tutorial lecturer in chemistry at the three affiliated colleges, Trinity, Ormond and Queen's. Steele graduated B.Sc. in 1898 with first-class honours in chemistry
, having during his course won exhibitions in chemistry, natural philosophy and biology, and the Wyselaskie and university scholarships in chemistry. In 1899 Steele was appointed acting-professor of chemistry at Adelaide, and at the end of that year went to Europe with an 1851 scholarship.
Steele worked with Professor J. Norman Collie
at London
and did research work under Professor Abegg at Breslau, Germany
. Returning to London he did research work with Sir William Ramsay
, and then went to Canada
and became a senior demonstrator in chemistry at McGill University
, Montreal
. Steele returned to Europe to become assistant professor of chemistry at the Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh
.
In 1905 Steele was appointed senior lecturer and demonstrator in chemistry at the University of Melbourne
. While in this position Steele, working in conjunction with Kerr Grant
(who later became professor of Physics at the University of Adelaide
), constructed a micro-balance that was sensistive to 4 nanograms. An account of this balance written by Steele and Grant was published in Vol. 82A of the Proceedings of the Royal Society
of London in 1909. As a result of their work the remarkable researches of Dr Whytlaw Gray and Sir William Ramsay
on the direct estimation of the density of the Radium
emanation was made possible.
On 20 December 1910 Steele was appointed professor of chemistry at the newly established University of Queensland
. He was elected president of the board of faculties and his experience was of great use in setting the university on its course. Steele's academic work was interrupted by World War I
; from June 1915 he was working for the Ministry of Munitions, London. Steele had a new type of gas mask which he had invented, and an invention to be used against submarines, both of which were presented to the British government. While working for the government he was able to show that synthetic phenol
could be produced for less than half the price then being paid for it. He worked out an entirely new process, and designed and had erected a large government factory for its production. While working for the government he refused an offer to go to America at £5000 a year and when it was suggested that an honour might be conferred courteously intimated that he was glad to work for his country without either additional salary or honours. Later on he did important work for the government in connection with poison gases.
On leaving England at the end of the war Steele received letters of thanks from Mr Winston Churchill
and Lord Moulton for the great services he had rendered. He took up his university work again in 1919 and in that year was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, London.
who survived him. He had no children.
Steele was a man of medium height with a frank and open countenance, with an unselfish outlook on life, and a personality that attracted both his students and his associate workers. He was a tireless worker and an ideal researcher - honest, patient, imaginative and cautious. Circumstances prevented him doing a large amount of original work, but much of the work he did during the war years was of a secret nature, the value of which cannot be estimated. Earlier in his career he did research in connection with the determination of transport numbers of electrolyte
s and the electrochemistry
of non-aqueous solutions. The heavy workload of organizing and carrying on a new department at the University of Queensland left him little time for research, but as chairman of the Royal Commission for the control of Prickly Pear he was associated with the successful solution of a problem which was a great danger to Queensland.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(30 May 1870 – 12 April 1934) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n scientist, foundation professor of chemistry at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
.
Early life
Steele was born in PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Samuel Madden Steele, a surgeon, and his wife Hariette Sarah, née Acock. Steele was educated at the Plymouth Grammar School; he then began an apprenticeship with his father. Steele migrated to Australia in 1889, where he qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
at the Victorian College of Pharmacy
Victorian College of Pharmacy
Monash University, Parkville campus is a campus of Monash University, located in Parkville, Victoria, Australia. It is home to the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, previously known as the Victorian College of Pharmacy...
. He then practised as a pharmacist.
Scientific career
Steele enrolled in medicine before transferring to the science course at the University of MelbourneUniversity of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in 1896, being then nearly 26 years of age, and did such distinguished work that when still only a second year student he was appointed tutorial lecturer in chemistry at the three affiliated colleges, Trinity, Ormond and Queen's. Steele graduated B.Sc. in 1898 with first-class honours in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, having during his course won exhibitions in chemistry, natural philosophy and biology, and the Wyselaskie and university scholarships in chemistry. In 1899 Steele was appointed acting-professor of chemistry at Adelaide, and at the end of that year went to Europe with an 1851 scholarship.
Steele worked with Professor J. Norman Collie
J. Norman Collie
John Norman Collie FRS , commonly referred to as J. Norman Collie, was a British scientist, mountaineer, and explorer.- Life and work :He was born in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, the second of four sons...
at 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...
and did research work under Professor Abegg at Breslau, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Returning to London he did research work with Sir William Ramsay
William Ramsay
Sir William Ramsay was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air" .-Early years:Ramsay was born in Glasgow on 2...
, and then went to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and became a senior demonstrator in chemistry at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Steele returned to Europe to become assistant professor of chemistry at the Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
In 1905 Steele was appointed senior lecturer and demonstrator in chemistry at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. While in this position Steele, working in conjunction with Kerr Grant
Kerr Grant
Professor Emeritus Sir Kerr Grant was an Australian physicist and a significant figure in higher education administration in South Australia in the first half of the twentieth century....
(who later became professor of Physics at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
), constructed a micro-balance that was sensistive to 4 nanograms. An account of this balance written by Steele and Grant was published in Vol. 82A of the Proceedings of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
of London in 1909. As a result of their work the remarkable researches of Dr Whytlaw Gray and Sir William Ramsay
William Ramsay
Sir William Ramsay was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air" .-Early years:Ramsay was born in Glasgow on 2...
on the direct estimation of the density of the Radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
emanation was made possible.
On 20 December 1910 Steele was appointed professor of chemistry at the newly established University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
. He was elected president of the board of faculties and his experience was of great use in setting the university on its course. Steele's academic work was interrupted by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
; from June 1915 he was working for the Ministry of Munitions, London. Steele had a new type of gas mask which he had invented, and an invention to be used against submarines, both of which were presented to the British government. While working for the government he was able to show that synthetic phenol
Phenol
Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, phenic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5OH. It is a white crystalline solid. The molecule consists of a phenyl , bonded to a hydroxyl group. It is produced on a large scale as a precursor to many materials and useful compounds...
could be produced for less than half the price then being paid for it. He worked out an entirely new process, and designed and had erected a large government factory for its production. While working for the government he refused an offer to go to America at £5000 a year and when it was suggested that an honour might be conferred courteously intimated that he was glad to work for his country without either additional salary or honours. Later on he did important work for the government in connection with poison gases.
On leaving England at the end of the war Steele received letters of thanks from Mr Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Lord Moulton for the great services he had rendered. He took up his university work again in 1919 and in that year was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, London.
Late life
Steele had overworked during the war and his constitution never fully recovered from the strain. He resigned his chair in 1931 and lived in retirement at Brisbane until his death. He married Amy Woodhead of MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
who survived him. He had no children.
Steele was a man of medium height with a frank and open countenance, with an unselfish outlook on life, and a personality that attracted both his students and his associate workers. He was a tireless worker and an ideal researcher - honest, patient, imaginative and cautious. Circumstances prevented him doing a large amount of original work, but much of the work he did during the war years was of a secret nature, the value of which cannot be estimated. Earlier in his career he did research in connection with the determination of transport numbers of electrolyte
Electrolyte
In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible....
s and the electrochemistry
Electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies chemical reactions which take place in a solution at the interface of an electron conductor and an ionic conductor , and which involve electron transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution.If a chemical reaction is...
of non-aqueous solutions. The heavy workload of organizing and carrying on a new department at the University of Queensland left him little time for research, but as chairman of the Royal Commission for the control of Prickly Pear he was associated with the successful solution of a problem which was a great danger to Queensland.