Arthur Herbert Church

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Sir Arthur Herbert Church KCVO FCS (June 2, 1834 – May 31, 1915) was a British chemist, expert on pottery, stones and chemistry of paintings, who discovered turacin in 1869 and several minerals, including the only British cerium mineral. He was also a talented artist and worked as a professor of chemistry at the Agricultural College in Cirencester and then at the Royal Academy of Arts. He wrote extensively on aspects of chemistry in agriculture, art, and daily life.

Early life[edit]

Church was born in London, the son of John Thomas Church, a solicitor. His studied at King's College London where he showed an interest in both science and art. He spent four years from 1851 to 1855 at the Royal College of Chemistry where he, under A.W. Hofmann, studied alongside William Henry Perkin with whom he published his first research paper.[1] The next four years were spent at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he graduated BA in 1859. He then started a private laboratory in London and beside his chemical analysis work, he started painting landscapes, which were first exhibited in The Royal Academy in May 1854.

Royal Agricultural College[edit]

Church worked at the college in Cirencester from 1863 to 1879 as a professor. He also worked as a Honorary Curator at the Cirencester Museum of Roman Antiquities. These associations led to work that included analysis of plants, soil, and minerals, extending into gemstones, porcelain and pigments. He examined the red water-soluble plumage of a West African Tauraco after being introduced to it by W.B. Tegetmeier and found that the pigment had 5.8% copper.[2] He then examined the food of the bird and found that Musa sapientum had copper.[3] He also discovered aluminium in a range of plant ashes.[4] Another discovery was a mineral from Cornwall that contained Cerium phosphate and called as Churchite.[5][6]

Royal Academy of Arts[edit]

Richmond Cemetery

In 1879, Church became the first professor of chemistry at the Royal Academy of Arts where he took a special interest in pigments, glazes and other matters. He was elected fellow of the Royal Society in 1888. As a painter of repute and an expert on the chemistry of paints, he was chosen for the restoration of paintings and frescoes in the Palace of Westminster.[5][7][8]

Church was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1901.[9] He was invested KCVO in 1909.[8] He died at Shelsley, Kew Gardens in 1915, and is buried in Richmond Cemetery.[10] He had married Jemima, the daughter of Mr. J. B. Pope.

Publications[edit]

Church wrote several books on organic, physiological and mineralogical chemistry.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Church, A.H.; Perkin, William Henry (1857). "IV. On some new colouring matters". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 8: 48–49. doi:10.1098/rspl.1856.0015.
  2. ^ Church, A. H. (1869). "Researches on Turacin, an Animal Pigment Containing Copper". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 159: 627–636. doi:10.1098/rstl.1869.0024. JSTOR 109012.
  3. ^ Church, Sir Arthur H. (1913). "Notes on Turacin and the Turacin-Bearers". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 83 (3): 639–643. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1913.tb06150.x.
  4. ^ Church, A.H. (1888). "III. On the occurrence of aluminium in certain vascular cryptogams". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 44 (266–272): 121–129. doi:10.1098/rspl.1888.0010. ISSN 0370-1662.
  5. ^ a b Kurzer, Frederick (2006). "Arthur Herbert Church FRS and the Palace of Westminster frescoes". Notes and Records of the Royal Society. 60 (2): 139–159. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2006.0145. S2CID 144691725.
  6. ^ Church, A. H. (1870). "Chemical research on new or rare cornish minerals". Journal of the Chemical Society. 23: 165–171. doi:10.1039/JS8702300165.
  7. ^ New York Times:FAMOUS CHEMIST DEAD.; Sir Arthur H. Church Was Also an Expert on Pottery and Stones.
  8. ^ a b Wikisource:Death of Sir A. H. Church;Royal Academy Professor of Chemistry
  9. ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
  10. ^ Meller, Hugh; Parsons, Brian (2011). London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer (fifth ed.). Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. pp. 290–294. ISBN 9780752461830.
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