- John Arthur Phillips
Infobox Scientist
name = John Arthur Phillips
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birth_date = birth date|1822|02|18
birth_place =Polgooth ,Cornwall
death_date = dda|1887|01|05|1822|02|18
death_place =London
residence =
citizenship = British
nationality =
ethnicity = Cornish
field =Geology ,Mining engineering ,Metallurgy
work_institutions =Royal Naval College, Greenwich
alma_mater =École des Mines
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prizes = FRS, FGS
footnotes =John Arthur Phillips, (1822–1887),
geologist , born atPolgooth , nearSt Austell inCornwall , on 18 Feb. 1822, was son of John Phillips, who at one time was occupied as a mineral agent, and of Prudence Gaved ofTregian ,St Ewe .cite web | last = Bonney | first = T. G. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Phillips, John Arthur (1822–1887), geologist, by T. G. Bonney, Published 1895 | work =Dictionary of National Biography Vol. XXXXV | publisher =Smith, Elder & Co. | date = 1895 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/22164 | format = HTML | doi = | accessdate = 2008-02-03]Education
After an education at a private school at
St Blazey he was placed with a surveyor, but soon turned his attention tometallurgy , especially in connection with electricity. He was also involved with theRoyal Cornwall Polytechnic Society where he collaborated withRobert Were Fox the Younger and Robert Hunt in experiments connected with electricity and the deposition of metallic copper.T. G. Bonney, ‘Phillips, John Arthur (1822–1887)’, rev. Denise Crook,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ,Oxford University Press , 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22164 accessed 3 Feb 2008] ]Phillips entered as a student at the
École des Mines ,Paris , in December 1844, and graduated in 1846.Work
For about two years he held a post at a French colliery, but returned to England in 1848. Here, after serving as chemist to a government commission on the question of coal for the navy, and as manager to some chemical works, he started on his own account as a
mining engineer and consultingmetallurgist inLondon . From 1848 to 1850 he was also professor of metallurgy at the college for civil engineers, Putney; and again, later in life, lectured at theRoyal Naval College, Greenwich , in 1875 and 1877.In 1853 he went to
California , remaining there twelve months, but returning thither in 1865, and again in 1866. During these two visits he made a number of observations on the connection betweenhot springs andmineral vein deposits, which were embodied in an important paper, published by theGeological Society of London [Geological Society of London "Journal", vol. xxxv. p.390] . He continued to reside in London till 1868, but made frequent professional journeys to various parts of Europe and to North Africa, besides those already named. In the latter year he went toLiverpool to build and manage the works of the Widnes Metal Company. [The Widnes Metal company was founded and chaired byEdmund Knowles Muspratt ] The undertaking proved to be so prosperous that he was able to return to London in 1877, and afterwards to retire from business. He married Mary Ann Andrew, daughter of George Andrew ofCarne ,St Mewan , Cornwall, on 1 Jan. 1850, and died suddenly on 5 Jan. 1887, at 18 Fopstone Road, S.W., leaving a son and a daughter.Phillips took out patents for improvements in metal production and refining, and was one of the first scientists to use the
polarizing microscope to study rock and mineral structures.Learned Societies
He was elected a fellow of the Geological Society in 1872, and was a vice-president at his death. He became a
Fellow of the Royal Society in 1881, was also a Fellow of theChemical Society and member of theInstitution of Civil Engineers . Of all these, his extensive and accurate knowledge, always at the service of his friends, his sound judgment, and sterling integrity, made him a valued member.Publications
His scientific papers were numerous, and exceptionally valuable because of his scrupulous accuracy, his excellence as a chemist, and his wide and varied experience in the field. In addition to these qualifications he was one of the first to devote himself to the study of the microscopic structure of minerals and rocks, sections of which were prepared by himself with remarkable skill. Among his more important papers were two on the ‘Greenstones’ of Cornwall, one on the rocks of the mining districts of Cornwall, with others on the chemical and mineralogical changes in certain eruptive rocks of North Wales, on the constitution and history of grits and sandstones, and on concretionary patches and fragments of other rocks contained in granite—all published in the "Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London". He also contributed to the "
Proceedings of the Royal Society ", the "Philosophical Magazine ", the "Chemical News", and other scientific journals. Besides sundry pamphlets, he also published a work in 1867 on the "Mining and Metallurgy of Gold and Silver"; a " [http://books.google.com/books?id=sWsCAAAAYAAJ Manual of Metallurgy] " in 1852, on the fourth edition of which he was engaged, in collaboration with Mr. Bauerman, at the time of his death; and a "Treatise on Ore Deposits" in 1884.elected publications
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=AUc1AAAAMAAJ Gold-mining and Assaying: A Scientific Guide for Australian Emigrants]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=sWsCAAAAYAAJ A Manual of Metallurgy, or a Practical Treatise on the Chemistry of the Metals]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=eTcDAAAAQAAJ Records of mining and metallurgy; or, Facts and memoranda for the use of the mine agent and smelter] , withJohn Darlington References
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