John Arthur Phillips

Infobox Scientist
name = John Arthur Phillips
box_width =


image_width =
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1822|02|18
birth_place = Polgooth, Cornwall
death_date = dda|1887|01|05|1822|02|18
death_place = London
residence =
citizenship = British
nationality =
ethnicity = Cornish
field = Geology, Mining engineering, Metallurgy
work_institutions = Royal Naval College, Greenwich
alma_mater = École des Mines
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for =
author_abbrev_bot =
author_abbrev_zoo =
influences =
influenced =
prizes = FRS, FGS
footnotes =

John Arthur Phillips, (1822–1887), geologist, born at Polgooth, near St Austell in Cornwall, on 18 Feb. 1822, was son of John Phillips, who at one time was occupied as a mineral agent, and of Prudence Gaved of Tregian, St Ewe.cite web | last = Bonney | first = T. G. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Phillips, John Arthur (1822–1887), geologist, by T. G. Bonney, Published 1895 | work = Dictionary of National Biography Vol. XXXXV | publisher =Smith, Elder & Co. | date = 1895 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/22164 | format = HTML | doi = | accessdate = 2008-02-03]

Education

After an education at a private school at St Blazey he was placed with a surveyor, but soon turned his attention to metallurgy, especially in connection with electricity. He was also involved with the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society where he collaborated with Robert Were Fox the Younger and Robert Hunt in experiments connected with electricity and the deposition of metallic copper.T. G. Bonney, ‘Phillips, John Arthur (1822–1887)’, rev. Denise Crook, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22164 accessed 3 Feb 2008] ]

Phillips entered as a student at the École des Mines, Paris, in December 1844, and graduated in 1846.

Work

For about two years he held a post at a French colliery, but returned to England in 1848. Here, after serving as chemist to a government commission on the question of coal for the navy, and as manager to some chemical works, he started on his own account as a mining engineer and consulting metallurgist in London. From 1848 to 1850 he was also professor of metallurgy at the college for civil engineers, Putney; and again, later in life, lectured at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1875 and 1877.

In 1853 he went to California, remaining there twelve months, but returning thither in 1865, and again in 1866. During these two visits he made a number of observations on the connection between hot springs and mineral vein deposits, which were embodied in an important paper, published by the Geological Society of London [Geological Society of London "Journal", vol. xxxv. p.390] . He continued to reside in London till 1868, but made frequent professional journeys to various parts of Europe and to North Africa, besides those already named. In the latter year he went to Liverpool to build and manage the works of the Widnes Metal Company. [The Widnes Metal company was founded and chaired by Edmund Knowles Muspratt] The undertaking proved to be so prosperous that he was able to return to London in 1877, and afterwards to retire from business. He married Mary Ann Andrew, daughter of George Andrew of Carne, St Mewan, Cornwall, on 1 Jan. 1850, and died suddenly on 5 Jan. 1887, at 18 Fopstone Road, S.W., leaving a son and a daughter.

Phillips took out patents for improvements in metal production and refining, and was one of the first scientists to use the polarizing microscope to study rock and mineral structures.

Learned Societies

He was elected a fellow of the Geological Society in 1872, and was a vice-president at his death. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1881, was also a Fellow of the Chemical Society and member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Of all these, his extensive and accurate knowledge, always at the service of his friends, his sound judgment, and sterling integrity, made him a valued member.

Publications

His scientific papers were numerous, and exceptionally valuable because of his scrupulous accuracy, his excellence as a chemist, and his wide and varied experience in the field. In addition to these qualifications he was one of the first to devote himself to the study of the microscopic structure of minerals and rocks, sections of which were prepared by himself with remarkable skill. Among his more important papers were two on the ‘Greenstones’ of Cornwall, one on the rocks of the mining districts of Cornwall, with others on the chemical and mineralogical changes in certain eruptive rocks of North Wales, on the constitution and history of grits and sandstones, and on concretionary patches and fragments of other rocks contained in granite—all published in the "Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London". He also contributed to the "Proceedings of the Royal Society", the "Philosophical Magazine", the "Chemical News", and other scientific journals. Besides sundry pamphlets, he also published a work in 1867 on the "Mining and Metallurgy of Gold and Silver"; a " [http://books.google.com/books?id=sWsCAAAAYAAJ Manual of Metallurgy] " in 1852, on the fourth edition of which he was engaged, in collaboration with Mr. Bauerman, at the time of his death; and a "Treatise on Ore Deposits" in 1884.

elected publications

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=AUc1AAAAMAAJ Gold-mining and Assaying: A Scientific Guide for Australian Emigrants]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=sWsCAAAAYAAJ A Manual of Metallurgy, or a Practical Treatise on the Chemistry of the Metals]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=eTcDAAAAQAAJ Records of mining and metallurgy; or, Facts and memoranda for the use of the mine agent and smelter] , with John Darlington

References

ources