James Finlay Weir Johnston

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Finlay Weir Johnston (September 13, 1796 – September 18, 1855) was an agricultural chemist.

Born in Paisley, Scotland, Johnston was educated at University of Glasgow; acquired a fortune by his marriage in 1830, and devoted himself to studying chemistry; after some years in Sweden he was chosen lecturer in Durham University, but he resided in Edinburgh, and wrote his Catechism of Agricultural Chemistry (1844), since translated into most European languages, and his Chemistry of Common Life (1853–1855). He died in Durham on September 18, 1855.

Johnston formed a grammar school in Durham, which later merged with other local schools, such as Brandon and Bowburn, to form a single comprehensive school for the area, named Durham Johnston Comprehensive School, named after James Finlay Weir Johnston.