J. Lawrence Smith (chemist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
J. Lawrence Smith
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| Born | December 17, 1818 |
| Died | October 12, 1883 (aged 64) |
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| Known for | Invention of the inverted microscope |
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| Fields | Chemistry |
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John Lawrence Smith was an American scientist who lived from 1818 to 1883. He worked as a chemist and mineralogist, meaning he loved studying rocks, minerals, and space stones called meteorites. Throughout his busy life, he invented useful scientific tools, traveled to faraway lands to discover rare minerals, and gathered an amazing collection of space rocks. He wrote important books, including Mineralogy and Chemistry, Original Researches, and helped other scientists learn better ways to test chemicals. Today, a famous science prize called the J. Lawrence Smith Medal is named to honor his work.
Contents
Early Life and Growing Up
John Lawrence Smith was born on December 17, 1818. Historians believe he was born either near Charleston, South Carolina, or in Louisville, Kentucky. Even as a young boy, he had a curious mind and loved discovering how the natural world worked.
Learning Science and Medicine
When he grew older, Smith went to college at the University of Virginia. He enjoyed learning about materials and nature. Next, he entered the Medical College of South Carolina to study how the human body works. He worked very hard and earned his medical degree in 1840. For his final project, he wrote an essay about the chemical properties of nitrogen gas.
European Adventures in Science
Even though he had become a doctor, Smith wanted to learn even more about chemistry and Earth sciences. He packed his bags and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. In Paris, he took exciting classes in physics, geology, toxicology, and mineralogy. One of his favorite teachers in Paris was Théophile-Jules Pelouze, who showed him how to conduct precise chemical tests.
While traveling, he also went to Giessen, Germany, where he met Justus von Liebig, one of the most famous chemists of the time. The two became great friends. Smith decided to spend his warm summers doing lab experiments in Giessen and his chilly winters studying in Paris.
Scientific Career and Big Discoveries
By 1843, Smith sailed back home to the United States. In 1844, he opened a doctor's office in Charleston. A couple of years later, in 1846, he helped start a medical magazine called the Medical and Surgical Journal of South Carolina.
Even though he cared for patients, his heart belonged to chemistry. He spent hours working on methods for analytical chemistry, testing soil, and figuring out what rocks were made of.
A Special Mission to Turkey
Smith became very skilled at agricultural chemistry, which is the study of farm soil and plant growth. He studied fossil bones and tested different soils to see how they helped crops grow. His clever work caught the attention of Secretary James Buchanan.
The ruler of Turkey asked the American government for an expert to help grow better cotton. Buchanan chose Smith for the job. Between 1846 and 1850, Smith lived in Turkey and explored the country's mineral resources.
He did not just look at farm fields. He explored deep valleys and rocky hillsides, where he made remarkable discoveries:
- He discovered large underground deposits of coal.
- He located valuable chrome ore used to make strong metals.
- He found deposits of emery on the island of Naxos, an abrasive stone used for polishing.
- He found a bright, glowing green uranium mineral that he named liebigite in honor of his mentor Justus von Liebig.
The Inverted Microscope Invention
Around 1850, Smith returned home with another amazing achievement. While working in laboratories, he had started designing a new kind of microscope called the inverted microscope. In normal microscopes of the time, the lens looked down at a specimen from above. Smith turned the design upside down so the lens looked at samples from underneath.
This inverted microscope was a great breakthrough. It allowed researchers to look through glass containers at liquids and living cells without the lens getting dirty or wet. Scientists still use inverted microscopes in modern laboratories today.
Teaching and University Life
When Smith got back to America, he moved around quite a bit. He sometimes taught classes in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the University of Louisiana, which is known today as Tulane University. Because he did not have a permanent laboratory yet, he joked that he was working like a traveling philosopher without a fixed home.
Marriage and Working in Virginia
On June 24, 1852, Smith married Sarah Julia Guthrie. She was the daughter of James Guthrie, a well-known leader from Kentucky. That autumn, Smith accepted a job as a chemistry professor at the University of Virginia. He took over the chemistry chair from Robert Empie Rogers, who had moved to Philadelphia.
This was a wonderful time for Smith's research. He invented a smart new method for analyzing silicates, which are minerals made of silicon and oxygen found in Earth's crust.
Moving to Washington and Louisville
In 1853, his father-in-law was chosen to be the Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. Smith and his wife moved there to support him. In the nation's capital, Smith delivered lectures for the US Department of Agriculture and worked with other scientists at the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1854, Smith accepted a new position at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. He became the professor of medical chemistry, replacing Benjamin Silliman Jr., who had taken a job at Yale. Smith taught many young doctors and researchers in Louisville until 1866. During this time, in 1857, he was also elected as an honored member of the American Philosophical Society.
Space Rocks and Meteorite Collections
Smith had a deep fascination with rocks falling from outer space, which scientists call meteorites. Even when he was very busy teaching, he wrote scientific papers about them. In 1854, he presented a paper on aerolites (an old name for stony meteorites) to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Building a Massive Space Collection
Later in life, Smith bought a famous collection of space rocks that had belonged to a scientist named Gerard Troost from Nashville, Tennessee. Smith did not stop there. He wrote letters to explorers all around the world to trade and purchase rare specimens.
He gathered rocks from around two hundred and fifty different space rock falls. In total, his collection weighed about twenty-five hundred pounds. That is more than the weight of a small car. It became the finest and largest collection of meteorites in the United States.
Leadership and Enduring Legacy
Smith was a respected scientific leader. He served as the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1872. Later, in 1877, he was elected president of the American Chemical Society.
His very last research paper appeared in 1883 in the American Journal of Sciences, explaining the metal found inside iron meteorites. Smith passed away in Louisville on October 12, 1883. He wanted his beloved space rocks to stay together so students could learn from them forever, so his entire collection was given to Harvard College at Harvard. Today, students and scientists still study the minerals and meteorites that he spent his life exploring.
