Alexander William Williamson
| Alexander William Williamson | |
|---|---|
Alexander William Williamson
|
|
| Born | 1 May 1824 Wandsworth, London, England |
| Died |
6 May 1904 (aged 80) Hindhead, Surrey |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Giessen |
| Doctoral advisor |
Leopold Gmelin Justus von Liebig |
| Known for | Synthesis of ethers |
| Notable awards | Royal Medal (1862) |
Alexander William Williamson FRS (1 May 1824 – 6 May 1904) was an English chemist of Scottish descent. He is best known today for the Williamson ether synthesis.
Williams enrolled at the University of Heidelberg in 1841. After working under Leopold Gmelin at Heidelberg, he transferred to the University of Giessen to work with Justus von Liebig, where he received his Ph.D. in 1845. Williamson then spent three years in Paris studying higher mathematics under Auguste Comte.
In 1849, with the support of Thomas Graham, Williamson was appointed professor of analytical and practical chemistry at University College, London. From Graham's resignation in 1855 until Williamson's retirement in 1887, Williamson also held the chair of general (theoretical) chemistry.
As a result of this increase in income, he was able to marry Emma Catherine Key, the third daughter of Thomas Hewitt Key, in 1855. They had two children: Oliver Key (d. 1941) and Alice Maude. Alice Maud Williamson married the physicist Alfred Henry Fison (1857–1923). Williamson died on 6 May 1904, at Hindhead, Surrey, England, and was buried at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey.
Williamson is credited for his research on the formation of unsymmetrical ethers by the interaction of an alkoxide with a haloalkane, known as the Williamson ether synthesis. He regarded ether and alcohol as substances analogous to and built up on the same type as water, and he further introduced the water-type as a widely applicable basis for the classification of chemical compounds. The method of stating the rational constitution of bodies by comparison with water he believed capable of wide extension, and that one type, he thought, would suffice for all inorganic compounds, as well as for the best-known organic ones, the formula of water being taken in certain cases as doubled or tripled.
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