Chemistry
Institutional records and personal papers relating to major figures in the history of chemistry such as Joseph Black, Alexander Crum Brown, and Thomas Charles Hope.
The Department of Chemistry was founded in 1713. The records consist of class lists for the years 1755-1971.
Joseph Black (1728-1799) was Professor of Chemistry at Edinburgh University from 1766 to 1799. He is celebrated as the founder of the science of thermodynamics and for his discovery of the properties of carbon dioxide. The papers consist of family letters and correspondence with fellow scientists such as James Watt and John Robison. See here for further Black-related materials including notes taken from his lectures.
Alexander Crum Brown (1838-1922) was Professor of Chemistry at Edinburgh University from 1869 to 1908. He is known for developing a system for representing chemical compounds in diagrammatic form that is essentially still in use today. These papers consist of notes taken from Crum Brown's lectures in the academic year 1892-1893.
Thomas Charles Hope (1766-1844) was Professor of Chemistry at Edinburgh University from 1795 to 1843. He is known for discovering the element strontium and for establishing that water attains its maximum density at 4°C (39°F). This collection consists of a volume of notes taken down from the lectures of Hope and of Joseph Black in the academic year 1796-1797.