William H. Wollaston
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William Hyde Wollaston PRS |
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| Born |
6 August 1766 East Dereham, Norfolk, England |
| Died | 22 December 1828 (aged 62) Chislehurst, England |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Discoveries of palladium and rhodium Camera lucida Dark lines in the solar spectrum |
| Awards |
Copley Medal (1802) Royal Medal (1828) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
Chemistry Physics |
William Hyde Wollaston PRS (/ˈwʊləstən/; 6 August 1766 – 22 December 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingots.
Wollaston was born in East Dereham, Norfolk, the son of the priest-astronomer Francis Wollaston (1737–1815) and his wife Althea Hyde. The family, which included 17 children, was financially well-off and were part of an intellectually stimulating environment. Wollaston was educated at Charterhouse School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge: in 1793 he obtained a doctorate in medicine from Cambridge University, and was a fellow of his college from 1787 to 1828.
He worked as a physician in rural areas between 1793 and 1797, then moved to London. During his studies, Wollaston had become interested in chemistry, crystallography, metallurgy and physics. In 1800, after he had received a large sum of money from one of his older brothers, he left medicine. He concentrated on pursuing his interests in chemistry and other subjects outside his trained vocation.
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