The development of the teaching of chemistry in England, 1799-1853

Abstract

The thesis traces the development of chemistry teaching in England set against the scientific and educational development of the period. At the end of the eighteenth century, chemistry was little studied and then only as an adjunct to other professional studied. Chemistry as a profession did not exist and there were no laboratories in which a student could receive a practical training. The year 1799 marks the founding of the Royal Institution and from this time there was a considerable increase in the teaching of chemistry, partly as a result of the general educational progress which occurred during the first half of the nineteenth century. The mechanics' institute movement enabled many to acquire a more scientific approach to their trade and the new institutions of higher learning, such as those at London, Manchester and Durham, early recognised the desirability of teaching chemistry and provided facilities for study to many who had for religious or financial reasons been excluded from Oxford and Cambridge, At the same time the teaching methods developed in Germany, and the success with which chemistry was being applied to agriculture caused great interest in England, Ultimately the wider knowledge of chemistry was reflected in its gradual introduction into schools. The lack of both governmental assistance and of an efficient central organisation for science hampered the growth of chemistry teaching, but by 1855.