THE DISCIPLINE OF CHEMISTRY: THE ORIGINS AND EARLY YEARS OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON

This dissertation deals with the development of chemistry as a discipline encompassing both social and intellectual groupings in early nineteenth century Britain. Disciplinary developments are related to the changing roles of chemists through analysis of the function and nature of the Chemical Society (f. 1841).;The research suggests that before 1830 the intellectual and social elite of London chemistry shared neither identity nor purpose with practical chemists. Lack of solidarity precluded the formation of a successful chemical society along the lines of organizations that served other disciplines. However during the 1830s pupils of Thomas Thomson of Glasgow, particularly Thomas Graham, rose to prominence. They believed in the cooperation of practical and scientific chemists. Several promoted, against the dominant metropolitan tradition, the programs of Berzelius and Liebig. The success of foreign chemists both intrigued and threatened several of the increasing number of London consultants and teachers. They sought to increase their own awareness of European developments and to bring together hitherto disparate chemical communities. Their interests complemented those of the young Scottish chemists, and together men from these two classes founded the Chemical Society.;The Society particularly attracted manufacturers and academic chemists. This reflected the founders' intentions and the development of new classes of chemical practitioners. Chemical manufacturers multiplied during the 1830s and 1840s, becoming a category distinct from the "chemists and druggists" with whom they had traditionally been granted. Job opportunities for ambitious young men with research reputations improved dramatically too. The Chemical Society provided them with valuable opportunities for the presentation of their investigations. The meetings and publications of the Society were directed both to the membership and to the European chemical community. Though they exhibited a range of emphases, the contributions, as a whole, reflected the problems of cosmopolitan specialties and interest in domestic industrial processes.;By the 1840s several occupations in which chemistry was important were growing rapidly. Consultants, academics and manufacturers made the Chemical Society a forum for their interests. The research they promoted had professional and technological significance and articulated the leaders' vision of chemistry, a discipline that encompassed enduring specialties and immediate practical concerns.;Three interrelated themes have been traced over the period from about 1820 to 1850. These are: the emergence of new elites, the reformulation of occupational categories of chemists, and changing patterns of intellectual concern. Elites have been identified principally through studies of institutions including the Chemical Club, Section "B" of the British Association and the Chemical Society. Particular attention has been paid to their conceptions of the desireable scope of chemistry and the chemical community. A complete prosopography of the Chemical Society has been carried out. Categories of chemists have been traced through the detailed examination of exemplary careers and the various roles of practitioners. Alliances and conflicts between different classes of chemists have also been examined. Intellectual issues have been treated as central factors in social relations within the chemical community and as chemists' principle concerns. The character of the chemistry promoted by the Society has been examined in detail. It has been analyzed in terms of the visions of the leaders, the careers of the contributors, the interests of intended audiences and national traditions.