George Samuel Newth

George Samuel Newth (1851 – 1936) was an English chemist, best known for a series of popular chemistry books.

Biography

Born in Plymouth, England, Newth was the son of Dr. the Rev Samuel Newth (1821–1898), principal of New College London, a noted Biblical scholar, non-conformist and mathematician. [Dr the Rev Samuel Newth mentioned in [http://www.broseley.org.uk/church.htm#St%20Mary%20Jackfield%20%20-%20The%20Red%20Church "Broseley Local History Society - Congregationalists"] ] [Registration details of G S Newth birth: Sup. Registrars District = Plymouth. Vol IX, page 370.] [Children of Samuel Newth including G S Newth: [http://www.kinderlibrary.ac.nz/information-sources/anglican-clergy-intro.asp Anglican Clergy Directory (NZ)] ] Newth's address in 1871 was 25 Clifton Road, Marylebone when he lived with his parents. He lived with his wife Margaret in Ealing in 1891 and in 1901 they were living at Lyndhunt House, 222 Maldon Road, Croydon, Surrey. [George Samuel Newth: UK Census records 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901; Margaret Newth: UK Census records 1881, 1891, 1901]

Newth was a demonstrator/lecturer and later examiner in Chemistry at the Royal College of Science in London (now Imperial College) from the 1880s up to about 1910. He worked with other noted chemists including Edward Frankland and William A. Tilden. He was also, in his youth, a keen cyclist and his name and details of a race appear in a copy of a US cycle magazine. [ [http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/Outing/Volume_02/outII03/outII03r.pdf Wheel News] "The Wheelman", p.234, 1883. "Mr. G. S. Newth, of New College, Hampstead, has accepted Mr. Wilson’s (“Faed’s”) challenge to riders of the “Otto” for a road race, in order to test the comparative speed of the “Otto” and the tricycle". The [http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/diwheel/diwheel.htm#otto 'Otto'] was a two wheeled machine known as a 'dicycle'.]

George Samuel Newth died in Hythe, Kent, England in 1936. No photographs have yet surfaced of him, although photographs of his father Samuel Newth are known.

Scientific work

G. S. Newth was the author of a number of popular books in chemistry, most notably "Chemical Lecture Experiments" and "Inorganic Chemistry". He was elected a fellow of the Chemical Society in 1894. [ [http://www.open.ac.uk/ou5/Arts/chemists/person.cfm?SearchID=659 Biographical Database of the British Chemical Community, 1880-1970] ]

"Chemical Lecture Experiments" (one of 5 books by Newth published by Longman, Green & Company of London, England) first appeared in 1892 and is a fascinating collection of chemistry lecture experiments all of which the author had tried for himself. This book is hard to find now outside of libraries. Several books of chemical lecture experiments were subsequently published by other authors. An identically titled work by American chemist [http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~med00029 Frederick G Benedict] (1870-1957), was first published in 1901 and acknowledges Newth's book. [G. S. Newth's "Chemical Lecture Experiments" (2nd edition, printed in 1900) acknowledged in the preface and bibliography of F. G. Benedict's [http://www.archive.org/details/chemiclectexper00benerich "Chemical Lecture Experiments"] ] The final reprint of Newth's "Chemical Lecture Experiments" appeared in the late 1920s.

Other books by Newth included "Inorganic Chemistry" (the most popular and remembered) first published in 1894 although the earliest copy in the British Library is 1896. It was revised and reprinted many times (with author updates to 1923 when Newth was 72), the final version appearing in 1940 four years after Newth had died and 46 years after its first publication in 1894. Old copies can be found for sale quite reasonably priced from internet book suppliers.

Newth also wrote "A Manual of Chemical Analysis - Qualitative and Quantitative" published in 1898 and "Elementary Practical Chemistry" first published about 1896 (earliest UK copy seen is 1904) which was for school chemistry classes. This book was titled "Elementary Inorganic Chemistry" when sold in the USA. "Smaller Chemical Analysis" published in 1906 was his final book.

Newth's books were reviewed in a number of journals, including "Science" [A review of "Chemical Lecture Experiments": Science, Volume 21, Issue 529, pp. 166-167 (March 1893)] [ [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/9/214/176.pdf A review of "A Manual of Chemical Analysis, Qualitative and Quantitative"] , Science, Volume 9, Issue 214, pp. 176-177(February 1899)] and"The Lancet" [A review of ‘Inorganic Chemistry’:'The Lancet', Volume 144, Issue 3721, 22 December 1894, Page 1491] [A review of "A Manual of Chemical Analysis, Qualitative and Quantitative" - by G. S. Newth, F.I.C., F.C.S., 'The Lancet' August 1898.] .The latter journal in February 1899 mentions that Newth was appointed an examiner in chemistry at the Royal College of Science. ['The Lancet', Feb 1899: Mr. G. S. Newth, F.C.S., F.I.C., Royal College of Science, South Kensington, appointed an examiner in chemistry.]

Newth also had a number of scientific papers published (see Bibliography section).

An American chemist, George D. Timmons, had a book called "Questions on Newth's Inorganic Chemistry" published in 1912. [G. D. Timmons: "Questions on Newth's Inorganic Chemistry", Longman, Green & Co, 1912 (British Library system number 003640330).]

It has been reported of John D. R. Thomas, past president (1990) of the Royal Society of Chemistry that his interest in chemistry derived from his father’s 1913 edition of G. S. Newth’s "Elementary Practical Chemistry - A Laboratory Manual for Use in Organized Science Schools". ["Analytical Proceedings", July 1990, Vol 27, p.161]

A memoir of [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P42579 Herbert Marcus Powell] (1906-1991) mentions a poem he wrote about chemicals ('The Chemists Dream') which included a reference to G S Newth. [G. S. Newth mentioned in [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0080-4606(200011)46%3C426%3AHMP7A1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y "Herbert Marcus Powell: 7 August 1906-10 March 1991"] , Biog.Mems. Fell. R. Soc. Lond. 46, 425-442 (2000)]

Newth's books are well worth buying (or borrowing from local or The British Library) and are a fascinating insight into late Victorian chemistry for schools and colleges and he was in many ways ahead of his time.

Bibliography

* G. S. Newth, [http://www.archive.org/details/elementaryinorga00newtrich "Elementary Inorganic Chemistry"] , Longmans, Green, and Co. (first published 1898).
* G. S. Newth, [http://www.archive.org/details/smallerchemicala00newtrich "Smaller Chemical Analysis"] , Longmans, Green, and Co. (first published 1906)
* G. S. Newth, [http://www.archive.org/details/manualofchemical00newtrich "A Manual of Chemical Analysis: Qualitative and Quantitative"] , Longmans, Green, and Co. (1899)
* G. S. Newth, [http://www.archive.org/details/textbookofinorga00newtrich "A Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry"] , Longmans, Green, and Co. (first published 1894)
* G. S. Newth, [http://www.archive.org/details/chemicallecturee00newtrich "Chemical Lecture Experiments: Non-metallic Elements"] , Longmans, Green, and Co. (1922; first published in 1892)
* G. S. Newth: [http://www.rsc.org/publishing/journals/article.asp?doi=CT8966901298 "An apparatus for showing experiments with ozone"] , Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions 69, 1298-1299, Royal Society of Chemistry, 1896.
* G. S. Newth: [http://www.rsc.org/publishing/journals/article.asp?doi=CT9007700775 "Notes on partially miscible aqueous inorganic liquids"] , J. Chem. Soc., Trans., 1900, 77, 775 - 778.
* G. S. Newth: [http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/various/scientific-american-supplement-no-841-february-13-1892-8-3/page-6-scientific-american-supplement-no-841-february-13-1892-8-3.shtml "A New Laboratory Process for Preparing Hydrobromic Acid"] , Scientific American Supplement, No. 841, February 13, 1892.
* G. S. Newth: [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v49/n1265/pdf/049293b0.pdf "A Lecture Experiment] , Nature 49, 293 (25 January 1894)
* G. S. Newth: [http://www.rsc.org/publishing/journals/article.asp?doi=CT9017900915 "A laboratory method for the preparation of ethylene"] Jour. Chem. Soc., 1901, 79, p. 915

References

* G S Newth: Communication to (London) Nature mentioned in US journal: The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol XXVI No. 1, January 1894