John KiddDied 17 Sep 1851 at age 76 (born 10 Sep 1775).English chemist and physician who obtained naphthalene (1819), which name he coined. It was the first of many useful organic chemicals derived from coal tar, the thick black liquid resulting when coal is heated to make coke and gas. In addition to teaching chemistry (1801) at Oxford, elected in 1803 as the first Aidrichian professor of chemistry, he later taught minerology and geology. His geology students included William Conybeare, William Buckland and Charles Daubeny. Holding a medical degree, he also taught anatomy (from 1816) and medicine (from 1822). He wrote a pamphlet on the role of science in education, as well as geology and mineralogy textbooks. Kidd was the son of a navy captain.« |
