| J. R. Partington | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 June 1886 Bolton |
| Died | 9 October 1965 Northwich |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields | History of science Chemistry |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
James Riddick Partington MBE (30 June 1886 – 9 October 1965) was a British chemist and historian of chemistry.
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Partington was born in Bolton, Lancashire and was educated at the University of Manchester, where he obtained First Class Honours. He was awarded an 1851 Exhibition Scholarship and worked with Nernst in Berlin.
During World War I he was first assigned to work with Eric Rideal on the purification of water for troops on the Somme. Later he was transferred to a group led by Frederick G. Donnan, which worked on the production of nitric acid for munitions. Partington was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Military Division for this latter work.
He was a lecturer at the University of Manchester and later the Professor of Chemistry at Queen Mary College, London, from 1919 to 1951.
Partington wrote many books, but he is particularly well known for the five-volume An Advanced Treatise on Physical Chemistry and the four volume A History of Chemistry. Professor Partington collected a considerable library of works on the history of alchemy and chemistry which is preserved in the John Rylands Library.[1]
In 1965 he was awarded the George Sarton Medal, the most prestigious award of the History of Science Society.
Partington died on 9 October 1965 in Northwich, England.[2]
Partington's son R. G. Partington was also a doctor of chemistry and played an important part in his work: he has been cited as editing some of his works.