William Thomas Brande, 1788-1866

[Mentioned in Miscellaneous Writings, p. 68]

Brande, close associate of Sir Humphry Davy and of Michael Faraday, was one of the leading chemists of his day. He was just a little over sixteen when he made his first contribution to a scientific journal. He had persuaded his father, who wished him to enter the church, to allow him to be apprenticed to his brother, a licentiate of the Company of Apothecaries. This apprenticeship was broken when the family moved away from London and again when the boy visited Germany.

When he finally re-entered his brother's employ, he furthered his education by attending classes at the Anatomical School and at St. George's Hospital; he also attended Davy's lectures at the Royal Institution and at night carried on experiments in his bedroom.

Brande lectured on materia medica, physics, and chemistry, and in 1813 succeeded Davy as professor of chemistry at the Royal Institution. Just as Brande had assisted Davy before succeeding him, Faraday now assisted Brande.

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Signs of the Times
March 14, 1959
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