William Austin Manuscript - Heavy Inflammable Air

• Reference:GB 235 AUS
• Dates of Creation:1789
• Name of Creator:
  Austin, Dr. William
• Language of Material:English
• Physical Description:
  1 folder

• Scope and Content

  Paper on 'Experiments on the Analysis of Heavy Inflammable Air' (1789) published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London in 1780 - (right click, open link in new tab) https://archive.org/details/jstor-106830 - there is a copy of the paper in the packet alongside the handwritten manuscript, possibly written by Austin himself. Manuscript is incomplete, 8 pages along, finishing on page 56 of the article. There is also a copy of Austin's entry in the Dictionary of National Biography in the packet.

• Administrative / Biographical History

  Born Gloucestershire 1754; died London 1793
  William Austin was a polymath. He initially studied botany at Oxford, graduating in 1776, and then medicine gaining his MD in 1783. However he also studied, and sometimes lectured in Hebrew, Arabic, Mathematics and Chemistry being elected professor in1785. In 1786 he moved from Oxford to London, building a lucrative medical practice while continuing his chemical studies. He was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, published papers for the Royal Society on ‘Heavy inflammable air’ and theorised (incorrectly) on the origin of kidney stones and hardening of the arteries.
  Source: DNB
  D.W.

• Access Information

  Collection is open to researchers by appointment, see (right click, open link in new tab:) https://www.rbge.org.uk/science-and-conservation/library-and-archives/visiting-the-library/

• Acquisition Information

  Unknown how it came to be at RBGE. Has been suggested that it may have been sent to Daniel Rutherford?

• Note

  Born Gloucestershire 1754; died London 1793
  William Austin was a polymath. He initially studied botany at Oxford, graduating in 1776, and then medicine gaining his MD in 1783. However he also studied, and sometimes lectured in Hebrew, Arabic, Mathematics and Chemistry being elected professor in1785. In 1786 he moved from Oxford to London, building a lucrative medical practice while continuing his chemical studies. He was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, published papers for the Royal Society on ‘Heavy inflammable air’ and theorised (incorrectly) on the origin of kidney stones and hardening of the arteries.
  Source: DNB
  D.W.

• Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

  8 handwritten single sided pages, each 130x210mm

• Conditions Governing Use

  Permission required from RBGE.

• Custodial History

  Manuscript appears to be part of a paper Austin presented to the Royal Society of London in 1789.

• Additional Information

  published

  Minimal

  GB 235 AUS

  GB 235

• Subjects

  Chemistry