View source for Biography:William Nicholson (chemist)

{{Short description|English chemist and writer}}
{{Other people|William Nicholson}}
[[File:William Nicholson b1753.jpg|thumb|{{center|William Nicholson, {{circa|1811}}}}]]
'''William Nicholson''' (13 December 1753{{spaced ndash}}21 May 1815) was an English writer, translator, publisher, scientist, inventor, patent agent and civil engineer. He launched the first monthly scientific journal in Britain, ''Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts'', in 1797, and remained its editor until 1814. In 1800, he and Anthony Carlisle were the first to achieve [[Chemistry:Electrolysis|electrolysis]], the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, using a voltaic pile. Nicholson also wrote extensively on [[Philosophy:Natural philosophy|natural philosophy]] and chemistry

==Early life==
Nicholson was educated in Yorkshire, and after leaving school, he made two voyages as a midshipman in the service of the British East India Company.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nicholson|first=William Junior|title=The Life of William Nicholson, 1753–1815: A Memoir of Enlightenment, Commerce, Politics, Arts and Science: By William Nicholson Junior. Edited by Sue Durrell.|publisher=Peter Owen Publishing|year=2018|isbn=978-0-7206-1957-7|location=London|language=English}}</ref>  His first voyage was to India and the second voyage was to China on board the ''Gatton,'' (1772-1773).

Subsequently, having become acquainted with Josiah Wedgwood in 1775, he moved to [[Place:Amsterdam|Amsterdam]], where he made a living for a few years as Wedgwood's agent.

<!--[[File:Nicholson-araeometer.jpg|thumb|left|100px|Nicholson's araeometer]]-->
On his return to England he was persuaded by Thomas Holcroft to apply his writing talents to the composition of light literature for periodicals, while also assisting Holcroft with some of his plays and novels - ''Alwyn''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Holcroft|first=Thomas|title=Alwyn: or the Gentleman Comedian in two volumes|publisher=Fielding & Walker|year=1780|location=London|language=English}}</ref> and ''Duplicity''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Holcroft|first=Thomas|title=Duplicity A Comedy, in Five Acts, prologue by William Nicholson|publisher=G. Robinson|year=1781|location=London|language=English}}</ref> 

Meanwhile, he devoted himself to the preparation of ''An Introduction to Natural Philosophy'', which was published in 1782 by Joseph Johnson and was at once successful. Translations for Joseph Johnson included [[Biography:Voltaire|Voltaire]]'s ''Elements of the Philosophy of Newton'' as well as M. Maistre de La Tour's ''History of Hyder Shah in 1784.'' He then published ''The Navigator's Assistant''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nicholson|first=William|title=The Navigator's Assistant, Containing the Theory and Practice of Navigation|publisher=T. Longman, T. Cadell & J. Sewell|year=1784|location=London|language=English}}</ref> based on his time with the East India Company .  

In 1784 he was proposed by Josiah Wedgwood (the current chairman) and appointed as secretary to the General Chamber of Manufacturers of Great Britain, and he was also connected with the Society for the Encouragement of Naval Architecture, established in 1791. 

==Scientific work==
On 12 December 1783, Nicholson was elected to the "Chapter Coffee House Philosophical Society". He was proposed by Jean-Hyacinthe Magellan and seconded by horologist John Whitehurst.<ref>Trevor Harvey Levere, Gerard L'Estrange Turner, Jan Golinski, Larry R. Stewart (2002) "Discussing Chemistry and Steam – The minutes of a coffee house philosophical society 1780–1787", Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0198515308}}.</ref>

Nicholson communicated to the Royal Society in 1789 two papers on electrical subjects. In the same year he reviewed the controversy which had arisen over Richard Kirwan's essay on phlogiston, and published a translation of the adverse commentaries by the French academicians (Lavoisier, Monge, Berthollet, and Guyton de Morveau) as 'An Essay on Phlogiston, to which are added Notes.'<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Nicholson, William (1753-1815)}}</ref>

[[File:EB1911 - Hydrometer Fig. 3.—Nicholson's Hydrometer.jpg|thumb|Nicholson's Hydrometer]]
In 1784 he invented the Nicholson hydrometer, a constant volume [[Engineering:Hydrometer|hydrometer]] to measure specific gravity of liguids or solids, with a pan for small weights on top and a small container ("basket") on the bottom into which a sample can be placed.<ref>http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Fluids/Nicholsons_Hydrometer/Nicholsons_Hydrometer.html Nicholson's Hydrometer, kenyon.edu</ref>

in 1790, William Nicholson obtained a patent for a cylindrical printing machine<ref>Patent 1748</ref> - a design which was copied in the US<ref>{{Cite web |title=Was the First Cylinder Press Built in the United States? |url=https://www.historyofinformation.com/?cat=118#entry_4579}}</ref> and Barcelona, before Friedrich Konig developed and commercialised the concept in 1814.

In 1797 he founded, published, and wrote part of the ''Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and the Arts'', generally known as ''[https://www.nicholsonsjournal.co.uk/index.html Nicholson's Journal]'', the earliest monthly scientific work of its kind in Great Britain. The journal published the first known [[Physics:Aerodynamics|aerodynamic]] analysis of [[Engineering:Glider (aircraft)|gliders]] and heavier-than-air fixed-wing flying machines designs, by [[Biography:George Cayley|George Cayley]] in 1809–1810.<ref name="AerNav123">Cayley, George. "On Aerial Navigation" [http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/fap/OnAerialNavigationPt1.pdf Part 1] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511071413/http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/fap/OnAerialNavigationPt1.pdf |date=2013-05-11 }}, [http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/fap/OnAerialNavigationPt2.pdf Part 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511041814/http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/fap/OnAerialNavigationPt2.pdf |date=2013-05-11 }}, [http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/fap/OnAerialNavigationPt3.pdf Part 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511052409/http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/fap/OnAerialNavigationPt3.pdf |date=2013-05-11 }} ''Nicholson's Journal of Natural Philosophy'', 1809–1810. (Via [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]).</ref> The publication continued until 1814.

In 1799 he established a school in London's Soho Square, where he taught natural philosophy and chemistry, with the aid of a grant of £1,500 from Thomas Pitt.

In May 1800 he with Anthony Carlisle discovered [[Chemistry:Electrolysis|electrolysis]], the decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen by voltaic current. The two were then appointed to a chemical investigation committee of the new Royal Institution. But his own interests shortly turned elsewhere.<ref>{{ODNBweb|id=20153|title=Nicholson, William|first=Jan|last=Golinski}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2003/August/electrolysis.asp Enterprise and electrolysis]. Chemistry World, August 2003, Royal Society of Chemistry</ref> In 1809 he became a first class corresponding member, living abroad, of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00002059 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705135509/https://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00002059 |title=William Nicholson (1753–1815) |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |archive-date=5 July 2020}}</ref>

Besides considerable contributions to the ''Philosophical Transactions'', Nicholson wrote translations of Fourcroy's ''Chemistry'' (1787) and Chaptal's ''Chemistry'' (1788), ''First Principles of Chemistry'' (1788) and a ''Chemical Dictionary'' (1795); he also edited the ''British Encyclopedia, or Dictionary of Arts and Sciences'' (6 vols., London, 1809).

==Later life==
During the later years of his life, Nicholson's attention was chiefly directed to water supply engineering at Portsmouth, at Gosport and in Hammersmith. William Nicholson died in Bloomsbury at the age of 61 on 21 May 1815, attended by Sir Anthony Carlisle.

==See also==
*  [[Physics:Timeline of hydrogen technologies|Timeline of hydrogen technologies]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
'''Attribution:'''
''Largely based on the public domain Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition and Mike Chrimes, article "Nicholson, William", in Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers, vol. 1 1500–1830, 2002'' {{ISBN|0-7277-2939-X}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Biography:Gino Loria|Gino Loria]]. 1916. "The Philosophical Magazine and History of Mathematics" Mathematical Gazette 8:325–9.
* Sue Durrell (editor). 2018. [https://www.peterowen.com/life-william-nicholson/ The Life of William Nicholson, by his Son]. Published by Peter Owen.
* Anna Gielas. 2020. "[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1600-0498.12283 Turning tradition into an instrument of research: The editorship of William Nicholson (1753–1815)]" Centaurus. International Journal of the History of Science and its Cultural Aspects 62:38-53.

== External links ==

*{{Gutenberg author|id=41346}}
* [http://www.NicholsonsJournal.com www.NicholsonsJournal.com]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, William}}
[[Category:English philosophers]]

{{Sourceattribution|William Nicholson (chemist)}}