Henry Enfield Roscoe

Reviews / Votes

Arguably, Sir Henry Roscoe wrote the most entertaining chemists' autobiography ever published. Now, in this important and very readable biography, the authors peer behind the details of the autobiography to reveal hidden details of the life of this Victorian inorganic chemist, writer, educationist, Anglo-German enthusiast, politician, and catalyst of the later scientific industrialisation of Manchester.
- William Brock, former Director of the Victorian Studies Centre at the University of Leicester More than a century after Henry Roscoe's death, we at last have the scholarly biography that this gifted, multi-faceted man deserves. Morris and Reed reveal a Roscoe whose achievements endured in textbooks and lectures, academic institution-building in Manchester and London, and the fruits of a relentless advocacy of technical education, as much as in his scientific research. The result is an insightful, deftly contextualized study, representing biographical writing at its very best.
- Robert Fox, Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at the University of Oxford Sir Henry Roscoe was a chemist by training, but became the Liberal MP for South Manchester. The authors of this fascinating, readable, and well-researched book seek to rescue Roscoe from his undeserved obscurity. This is a must-read book for anyone connected with the University of Manchester or chemistry.
- Dr Brian Iddon, organic chemist and former Labour MP for Bolton, South East Peter Morris and Peter Reed have done us all a great service. Thanks to their meticulous work, Henry Roscoe is now rescued from undeserved oblivion. At the start of the nineteenth century, John Dalton put Manchester on the chemical map, Roscoe then created the strong program of teaching, research and industrial engagement that came to characterize chemical instruction in Manchester. We are indebted to the authors for establishing in rich detail exactly how this was done.
- Arnold Thackray, Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania The authors have ably served a wide potential readership of not only historians and chemists, but also of educationalists and those interested in Victorian politics, Manchester, itsindustry and its university. This is an eminently readable and insightful book which at last restores to prominence "The Campaigning Chemist". * Anna Simmons, Royal Society of Chemistry * This is a finely crafted and detailed account of the role of Henry Enfield Roscoe (1833-1915) as chemist, educator, administrator, consultant, and Parliamentarian who worked as a central figure within influential networks in Victorian England. Morris and Reed deftly and expertly present Roscoe as an indefatigable campaigner for chemical and technical education, universities and scientific institutions, and progressive liberal agendas and values. This biography is a valuable addition not only to our knowledge of nineteenth-century British chemical history, but also to our understanding of the scientist as a public citizen. * Mary Jo Nye, Ambix * The Campaigning Chemist provides an important window into British scientists' efforts to both reform chemical education and revitalize the relationship between science and industry in the late-nineteenth century. With its extensive bibliography, Morris and Reed's book will be a useful reference for students and scholars interested in learning more about late-nineteenth-century British chemistry. * Amy A. Fisher, Bulletin for the History of Chemistry *