Abstract
ON Friday last, May 6, there passed away, full of years and of honour, Alexander William Williamson, one of the most notable of British chemists, and one who, in the heyday of his intellectual activity, exercised a remarkable influence on the development of chemical theory. He had been in failing health for some years past, and such was the seclusion in which he lived of late that his tall manly form and striking features were practically unknown to the younger generation of chemical workers. Indeed, after his retirement, in 1889, from the position of Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, which he held for some sixteen years, and after the termination of his active connection with the British Association for the Advancement of Science, of which he was treasurer for many years, he rarely visited London, and unless on an occasion when it was represented to him that his influence and the weight of his authority were needed in support of some reform, it was difficult to induce him to revisit the scenes of scientific activity in which he had himself played so strenuous and so eminent a part. Until within the last few years, when his mental powers were obviously failing, he continued to take a keen interest in the progress of science, and it was easy to engage his attention on the broad general lines of its development.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
THORPE, T. Prof. A. W. Williamson, F.R.S. . Nature 70, 32–34 (1904). https://doi.org/10.1038/070032a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/070032a0