Henry Watts (chemist) facts for kids

Henry Watts (1815–1884) was an important English chemist. He is best known for creating a huge dictionary of chemistry that helped scientists use the same names for chemicals.

A Chemist's Life

Henry Watts was born in London on January 20, 1810. When he was just 10 years old, he began training to be an architect. Later, he supported himself by teaching mathematics. He studied at University College, London and earned his degree in 1841.

In 1846, Watts became an assistant to George Fownes, a chemistry professor at University College. He continued this work until 1857, even after Fownes passed away. Watts had a speech difficulty, which meant he found it hard to get a job as a professor. Instead, he focused on writing and editing chemistry books.

Watts became a member of the Chemical Society in 1847. In 1849, he was chosen to be the editor of the Chemical Society's Journal. Around 1860, he also became the librarian for the society. Later, he was responsible for adding summaries of new chemistry papers from other places into the journal.

Watts received important honors for his work. In 1866, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1879, he became a Fellow of the Physical Society. He passed away on June 30, 1884. He was married to Sophie Hanhart and they had ten children.

Important Chemistry Books

Henry Watts spent much of his career working on major chemistry books.

Translating a Huge Handbook

From 1848 to 1872, Watts worked on a massive project. He translated and expanded a famous German book called Handbuch der Chemie by Leopold Gmelin. This huge task resulted in eighteen volumes, showing how dedicated he was to chemistry.

Creating a Chemistry Dictionary

In 1858, Watts started working on a new edition of an older chemistry dictionary. However, the original book was very old-fashioned. So, Watts decided to create a completely new book. With the help of many other scientists, he turned it into a large encyclopedia of chemical science.

The first edition of Watts's Dictionary of Chemistry had five volumes and was finished in 1868. He added more information in later supplements published in 1872, 1875, and from 1879 to 1881. This dictionary was very important because it helped scientists agree on how to name chemicals. This made it easier for chemists around the world to understand each other's work. A new, updated edition of the dictionary was published after his death.

Watts also edited several editions of Fownes's 'Manual of Chemistry,' another important chemistry textbook.