Elizabeth Fulhame
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Fulhame was a British
, specifically Scottish, chemist perhaps best known for her 1794 work An Essay on Combustion. The book details her experiments on oxidation-reduction reactions and catalysis
. As the title implies it also concerned theories on combustion. The book is seen by some as a precursor to the work of Jöns Jakob Berzelius
. That stated she focused more on water as a catalyst rather than heavy metals. It was translated into German in 1795 by Augustin Gottfried Ludwig Lentin
as Versuche über die Wiederherstellung der Metalle durch Wasserstoffgas ...
Her work was known in its time, as a description of it was written by Coindet, but aroused little interest. An exception being Irish chemist William Higgins
who claimed that she had stolen his ideas. He also made similar claims against John Dalton
. That stated Higgins softened his criticism of her and Benjamin Thompson
held her work on the reduction of gold salts in esteem.
In the 1790s, Fulhame also made some early observations on the use of light sensitive chemicals (silver salts) on fabric, which predate Thomas Wedgewood's more famous photogram trials of 1801. Fulhame did not, however, attempt to make "images" or representational shadow prints the way Wedgewood did, and there is no evidence she attempted any camera obscura experiments.
Little is known of her outside of the work except that her husband was a doctor named Thomas. Also that in 1810 she was made an honorary member of the Philadelphia Chemical Society.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
, specifically Scottish, chemist perhaps best known for her 1794 work An Essay on Combustion. The book details her experiments on oxidation-reduction reactions and catalysis
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
. As the title implies it also concerned theories on combustion. The book is seen by some as a precursor to the work of Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Jöns Jacob Berzelius was a Swedish chemist. He worked out the modern technique of chemical formula notation, and is together with John Dalton, Antoine Lavoisier, and Robert Boyle considered a father of modern chemistry...
. That stated she focused more on water as a catalyst rather than heavy metals. It was translated into German in 1795 by Augustin Gottfried Ludwig Lentin
Augustin Gottfried Ludwig Lentin
Augustin Gottfried Ludwig Lentin was a German chemist. He was a lecturer at the University of Göttingen and subsequently inspector of saltworks, and a writer and translator of works on chemistry and metallurgy.-Early life and education:...
as Versuche über die Wiederherstellung der Metalle durch Wasserstoffgas ...
Her work was known in its time, as a description of it was written by Coindet, but aroused little interest. An exception being Irish chemist William Higgins
William Higgins (chemist)
William Higgins , an Irish chemist, was one of the early proponents of atomic theory. Known mainly for his speculative ideas on chemical combination, William Higgins is popular for the insights his life offers into the emergence of chemistry as a career during the British industrial revolution...
who claimed that she had stolen his ideas. He also made similar claims against John Dalton
John Dalton
John Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
. That stated Higgins softened his criticism of her and Benjamin Thompson
Benjamin Thompson
Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford , FRS was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th century revolution in thermodynamics. He also served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Loyalist forces in America during the American...
held her work on the reduction of gold salts in esteem.
In the 1790s, Fulhame also made some early observations on the use of light sensitive chemicals (silver salts) on fabric, which predate Thomas Wedgewood's more famous photogram trials of 1801. Fulhame did not, however, attempt to make "images" or representational shadow prints the way Wedgewood did, and there is no evidence she attempted any camera obscura experiments.
Little is known of her outside of the work except that her husband was a doctor named Thomas. Also that in 1810 she was made an honorary member of the Philadelphia Chemical Society.