Ure, Andrew, 1778-1857, chemist

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Person

Authorized form of name

Ure, Andrew, 1778-1857, chemist

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        Dates of existence

        1778-1857

        History

        Andrew Ure was born in Glasgow in May 1778 and graduated MD from Glasgow University in 1801. After a brief spell as an army surgeon, Ure was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy at Anderson's Institution in 1804, in succession to George Birkbeck. In the spirit of John Anderson, he gave highly successful evening lectures on chemistry and mechanics for the working people of the city and built up a reputation as a competent practical chemist. He published a 'Dictionary of chemistry' in 1821 and a much-criticised 'New system of geology' in 1829. An account of the cotton industry followed in 1836 and a 'Dictionary of arts' in 1839. He was director of the short-lived Garnethill Observatory from 1808. Ure was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1822, and played a leading part in the founding of the Pharmaceutical Society in 1840. In 1818, Ure achieved notoriety by galvanising the body of an executed criminal and apparently bringing it back to life. His personal life was stormy, and he divorced his wife in 1819 after her affair with his colleague, Granville Sharpe Pattison, Professor of Anatomy. Ure resigned his chair at the Andersonian in 1830 and established himself as a consulting chemist in London, where he died in 1857.

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        Related entity

        Anderson's College, Glasgow (1796-1887)

        Identifier of related entity

        C0046

        Category of relationship

        associative

        Dates of relationship

        1804-1830

        Description of relationship

        Ure was Professor of Natural Philosophy at Anderson's Institution (later renamed Anderson's College).

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        Authority record identifier

        P0007

        Institution identifier

        GB 249

        Rules and/or conventions used

        ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, International Council on Archives (2nd edition, 2003); Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names, National Council on Archives (1997).

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        Created by Victoria Peters, February 2010.

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