William Ramsay

@Inorganic Chemists, Life Achievements and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ William Ramsay was a Nobel Prize winning chemist who discovered the ‘noble gases’ Scottish Scientists Chemists Inorganic Chemists Libra Celebrities William Ramsay was a renowned Chemist who lived in Britain and made significant contribution in discovering the inert components in the earth’s atmosphere. He started his scientific career while in university where he studied the properties of toluic acids thus earning a doctorate. He then embarked on an academic career wherein he worked in association with great minds like John William Strutt, who would later become his collaborator in his most important discovery of noble gases. Following the discovery of argon, William set about identifying other inert elements. He successfully identified the elements xenon, neon and krypton present in the atmosphere. He also studied the radioactive decay of radium and made a significant discovery. He concluded that helium that was earlier believed to exist only on the surface of sun was produced during the radioactive decay of radium along with argon. This discovery was a major breakthrough and he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He also dabbled with possibility of extracting gold from sea water, an attempt that proved futile. Throughout his career Ramsay made several notable discoveries in the field of inorganic chemistry, which were related to studies of picoline and quinine alkaloids. He also studied stoichiometry and thermodynamics along with his research on properties of solutions of metals. Read on to know more about his life and works

Personal Details

Birthday: October 2, 1852 Died on: July 23, 1916 Nationality: British Famous: Scientists, Chemists, Inorganic Chemists Known as: Sir William Ramsay Universities: University of Glasgow University of Tübingen University of Strathclyde The Glasgow Academy Birth Place: Glasgow Information Detail Birthday October 2, 1852 Died on July 23, 1916 Nationality British Famous Scientists, Chemists, Inorganic Chemists Known as Sir William Ramsay Universities University of Glasgow University of Tübingen University of Strathclyde The Glasgow Academy Birth Place Glasgow Gender Male Sun Sign Libra Born in Glasgow Famous as Chemist Died at Age 63

Glasgow

William Ramsay born at Unsplash Birth Place

William exchanged nuptial vows with Margaret Johnstone Marshall Buchanan and the couple had two children, Catherine Elska and William George. Unsplash Personal Life

The visionary chemist breathed his last on July 23, 1916, after battling nasal cancer in Buckinghamshire, England. He was interred at the parish church of Hazlemere. Unsplash Personal Life

William Ramsay born on October 2, 1852, was named after his father who was an engineer by profession in Glasgow, Scotland. His mother was Catherine Robertson and Ramsay’s uncle was famous geologist Andrew Ramsay. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

William completed his early education from his native town in the ‘Glasgow Academy’ and after studying briefly at the ‘University of Glasgow’ in 1870 he moved to the ‘University of Tübingen’ for his doctorate studies. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Working on his dissertation ‘Investigations in the Toluic and Nitrotoluic Acids’ under renowned chemist Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig he earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1872. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After completing his studies he returned to Glasgow and accepted the position of a research assistant in the chemistry department of ‘Andersen College’. Unsplash Career

In 1879 he moved to the ‘University College of Bristol’ when he was offered the post of Professor. He taught chemistry to the students and even continued his research on the subjects. Unsplash Career

The year 1881 was important milestone in his academic career as he was designated as the Principal of ‘University College of Bristol’. Unsplash Career

However the most important turn in his career came when he joined the ‘University College London’ as the successor of Alexander Williamson. Presiding over the chair of Chemistry in the institution, he made numerous significant discoveries during his tenure. Unsplash Career

Some of the earliest researches he conducted were on oxides of nitrogen that were published between the years1885-90. Unsplash Career

Ramsay’s most important contribution in the field of chemistry was the discovery of inert gases or noble gases which comprise the Group 18 of the periodic table of chemical elements. The discovery led to the use of helium as an alternative to hydrogen in lighter than air craft and use of other noble gases like argon in filament bulbs. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	October 2, 1852
Died on	July 23, 1916
Nationality	British
Famous	Scientists, Chemists, Inorganic Chemists
Known as	Sir William Ramsay
Universities	University of Glasgow University of Tübingen University of Strathclyde The Glasgow Academy
Birth Place	Glasgow
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Libra
Born in	Glasgow
Famous as	Chemist
Died at Age	63

William Ramsay

British

Oct 2, 1852

Biography

Personal Details

Glasgow