Frederick Field (chemist) facts for kids

Frederick Field (born August 2, 1826 – died April 3, 1885) was an important English chemist. He made many discoveries and worked in different parts of the world, including Chile, before returning to England.

Early Life and Education

Frederick Field was born in Lambeth, London. He was the second son in his family. His family owned a company called J. C. & J. Field, which made candles.

From a young age, Frederick loved chemistry. After finishing school in 1843, he went to study at the Polytechnic Institution. Later, he studied more at the Royal College of Chemistry in Oxford Street.

Field was one of the first members of the Chemical Society of London. This society started in 1846. He shared his first scientific paper with them the very next year.

Adventures in Chile

In 1848, Frederick Field took a job as a chemist in Chile. He worked at a copper smelting factory in a place called Coquimbo. Smelting is a process that extracts metal from its ore using heat.

While in Chile, he made some interesting discoveries. He studied the waste materials from copper smelting. He also looked at the ashes of the cactus plant, which were used to get a lot of soda.

In 1851, Field found a natural mix of silver and copper. It looked almost like pure silver! He also discovered that a certain rock near Coquimbo was actually pure lapis lazuli. This was the first time this beautiful blue stone was found in South America.

New Responsibilities in Chile

In 1852, Field became the manager of his company's factory in Caldera. This was a new port city. Before starting this job, he went back to England and got married. His wife was the sister of a famous chemist, Sir Frederick Abel.

When he returned to Caldera in 1853, he also became the vice consul for the area. This job meant he had many important duties. Chile sometimes had revolutions, and he had to help keep things safe. During the Russian War, he even represented France in that region.

In 1856, Field became a chemist and assistant manager at a large copper-smelting factory in Guayacan. This factory grew to be one of the biggest in the world. In 1859, another revolution started in Chile. Field sent his family to England to be safe. But he stayed behind and managed to protect the factory from harm.

Return to England

In September 1859, Frederick Field finally left Chile and returned to England. Soon after, he became a chemistry lecturer at St. Mary's Hospital in 1860. In 1862, he became a chemistry professor at the London Institution.

That same year, he started working as a chemist for a company that made aniline dyes. He stayed there until 1866. Then, he became a partner in his family's old company, J. C. & J. Field. He was the senior partner when he passed away. In 1863, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very respected group of scientists.

Later Life and Passing

Frederick Field's health began to decline in 1876. After a long illness, he passed away on April 3, 1885.

Scientific Writings

Frederick Field wrote many scientific papers, forty-three in total. He also wrote one paper with his brother-in-law, Sir F. A. Abel. Here are some of his notable works:

• 'On the Solvent Power exercised by Hyposulphite of Soda on many Salts insoluble in Water' (1863)
• 'On the Solubility of the Halogen Salts of Silver in certain Solutions' (1861)
• 'On the Existence of Silver in Sea-water' (1856–57)
• 'Artificial Formation of Atacamite' (1859)
• On 'Ludlamite, a new Mineral'
• On 'The General Distribution of Bismuth in Copper Minerals' (1862)