James Johnston Dobbie facts for kids
Sir James Johnston Dobbie (born August 4, 1852 – died June 19, 1924) was a very important Scottish chemist. He was famous for his work with special chemicals called alkaloids. He studied how these chemicals were built and how they looked under different kinds of light, like ultraviolet (UV) light. He even found a new chemical called hydroxycodeine from opium and created another one called diphenylene in his lab!
Life of a Chemist
James Johnston Dobbie was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on August 4, 1852. His dad, Alexander Dobbie, was also a chemist in their town. James went to Glasgow High School and then studied at Glasgow University, where he earned his MA degree in 1875.
He loved learning, so he continued his studies at the University of Edinburgh. There, he worked with a famous chemist named William Ramsay and earned his DSc degree in 1879.
In 1884, James Dobbie became the very first head of the chemistry department at Bangor University (which was then called the University College of North Wales). He worked hard to build up the department in its early years.
He was recognized for his amazing work in science. In 1903, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The next year, in 1904, he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very old and respected group of scientists.
Sir James had many important jobs. From 1903 to 1909, he was the director of the Royal Scottish Museum. Then, from 1909 to 1920, he was the principal of the Government Laboratory in London. He was also the president of the Royal Institute of Chemistry from 1915 to 1917 and the president of the Chemical Society in 1919. Because of all his great contributions, he was made a knight in 1915, which means he was given the title "Sir."
After a long and successful career, Sir James retired in 1920 and moved to a village called Fairlie, North Ayrshire, which his family had known for a long time. He passed away there on June 19, 1924. He is buried in Largs Cemetery.
His Family
James Dobbie married Violet Chilton in 1887. They had a son named Alexander Middleton Dobbie. Sadly, Alexander was a soldier in the Black Watch 6th Battalion and died when he was only 19 years old, on April 13, 1918. He is remembered at Prenes British Cemetery in France.
