James Finlay Weir Johnston

James F W Johnston

James Finlay Weir Johnston, FRS FRSE (13 September 1796 – 18 September 1855) was a Scottish agricultural chemist[1] and mineralogist.

Life

Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Johnston was educated at University of Glasgow, where he studied Theology and graduated MA.

Johnston founded a grammar school in Durham in 1825,[2] which later merged with other local schools, such as Brandon and Bowburn, to form a single comprehensive school for the area, named Durham Johnston Comprehensive School, preserving James Finlay Weir Johnston's name.[1]

He acquired a fortune at the time of his marriage in 1830, and was able to devote himself to studying chemistry. He visited the chemist J. J. Berzelius in Sweden and was a co-founder of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.[3]

In 1832 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being Thomas Charles Hope. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1837.[4]

He was appointed reader in Chemistry and Mineralogy at Durham University on its foundation in 1833, but continued to reside in Edinburgh out of term.[2] From 1847, his assistant was Augustus Voelcker who also lectured in agricultural chemistry at Durham University.[5]

In 1849 the Assembly of New Brunswick contracted Johnston to survey and report on potential development.[6] In his Notes on North America, Johnston reported that the Provincial soils were more productive than those of New York or Ohio.

Johnston died in Durham on 18 September 1855.[1] He is buried in the churchyard at St. Bartholomew's church in Sunderland Bridge near Croxdale. Choosing to be buried in a country churchyard rather than in Durham City to avoid polluting drinking water drawn from local springs in the city as his body decayed.[7]

Works

Johnston's works are available through Internet Archive:

Family

In 1830 he married the daughter of Thomas Ridley of Durham.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
  2. ^ a b "Johnston, James Finlay Weir" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  3. ^ David Knight, 'Johnston, James Finlay Weir (1796–1855)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
  4. ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  5. ^ John Christopher Augustus Voelcker, (1899) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  6. ^ a b James Finlay Weir Johnston at Canadian Dictionary of Biography
  7. ^ "How Durham Johnston School got its name".
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