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1 Parkes, Alexander
[br]b. 29 December 1813 Birmingham, Englandd. 29 June 1890 West Dulwich, England[br]English chemist and inventor who made the first plastic material.[br]After serving apprentice to brassfounders in Birmingham, Parkes entered Elkington's, the celebrated metalworking firm, and took charge of their casting department. They were active in introducing electroplating and Parkes's first patent, of 1841, was for the electroplating of works of art. The electrodeposition of metals became a lifelong interest.Notably, he achieved the electroplating of fragile objects, such as flowers, which he patented in 1843. When Prince Albert visited Elkington's, he was presented with a spider's web coated with silver. Altogether, Parkes was granted sixty-six patents over a period of forty-six years, mainly relating to metallurgy.In 1841 he patented a process for waterproofing textiles by immersing them in a solution of indiarubber in carbon disulphide. Elkingtons manufactured such fabrics until they sold the process to Mackintosh Company, which continued making them for many years. While working for Elkingtons in south Wales, Parkes developed the use of zinc for desilvering lead. He obtained a patent in 1850 for this process, which was one of his most important inventions and became widely used.The year 1856 saw Parkes's first patent on pyroxylin, later called Xylonite or celluloid, the first plastic material. Articles made of Parkesine, as it came to be called, were shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862, and he was awarded a medal for his work. Five years later, Parkesine featured at the Paris Exhibition. Even so, Parkes's efforts to promote the material commercially, particularly as a substitute for ivory, remained stubbornly unsuccessful.[br]Bibliography1850, British patent no. 13118 (the desilvering of lead). 1856, British patent no. 235 (the first on Parkesine).1865, Parkes gave an account of his invention of Parkesine in J.Roy.Arts, (1865), 14, 81–.Further ReadingObituary, 1890, Engineering, (25 July): 111.Obituary, 1890, Mining Journal (26 July): 855.LRD -
2 Chemical technology
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3 Synthetic materials
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br] -
4 Elkington, George Richard
SUBJECT AREA: Metallurgy[br]b. 17 October 1801 Birmingham Englandd. 22 September 1865 Pool Park, Denbighshire, England[br]English pioneer in electroplating.[br]He was apprenticed to his uncles, makers of metalware, in 1815 and showed such aptitude for business that he was taken into partnership. On their deaths, Elkington assumed sole ownership of the business. In conjunction with his cousin Henry (1810–52), by unrelenting enterprise, he established an industry for electroplating and electrogilding. Up until c.1840, silver-plated goods were produced by rolling or soldering thin sheets of silver to a base metal, such as copper. Back in 1801, the English chemist William Wollaston had deposited one metal upon another by means of an electric current generated from a voltaic pile or battery. In the 1830s, certain inventors, such as Bessemer used this result to produce plated articles and these efforts in turn induced the Elkingtons to apply the method in their trade. In 1836 and 1837 they took out patents for "mercurial gilding", and one patent of 1838 refers to a separate electric current. In 1840 they bought from John Wright, a Birmingham surgeon, his discovery of what proved to be the best electroplating solution: namely, solutions of cyanides of gold and silver in potassium cyanide. They also purchased rights to use the electric machine invented by J.S. Woolrich. Armed with these techniques, the Elkingtons produced in their large new works in Newhall Street a wide range of gold-and silver-plated decorative and artistic ware. Henry was particularly active on the artistic side of the business, as was their employee Alexander Parkes. For some twenty-five years, Britain enjoyed a virtual monopoly of this kind of ware, due largely to the enterprise of the Elkingtons, although by the end of the century rising tariffs had closed many foreign markets and the lead had passed to Germany. George spent all his working life in Birmingham, taking some part in the public life of the city. He was a governor of King Edward's Grammar School and a borough magistrate. He was also a caring employer, setting up houses and schools for his workers.[br]Bibliography1864, Journal of the Royal Society for Arts (29 January).LRDBiographical history of technology > Elkington, George Richard
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Parkes , Alexander — (1813–1890) British chemist and inventor Parkes, the son of a Birmingham lock manufacturer, was apprenticed to a brass founder and started his career in charge of the casting department at Elkington. He took out his first patent, which was for… … Scientists
Parkes, Alexander — ▪ British chemist born Dec. 29, 1813, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Eng. died June 29, 1890, West Dulwich, near London British chemist and inventor noted for his development of various industrial processes and materials. Much of Parkes s… … Universalium
Alexander Parkes — (December 29 1813 June 29 1890) was a metallurgist and inventor from Birmingham, England. He created Parkesine, the first man made plastic.The son of a brass lock manufacturer, Parkes was apprenticed to a brass founder at Messenger and Sons… … Wikipedia
Alexander Stuart — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Stuart. Sir Alexander Stuart (21 mars 1824 – 16 juin 1886) est un homme politique australien qui fut Premier Ministre de Nouvelle Galles du Sud du 5 janvier 1883 au 7 octobre 1885. Il était connu pour sa grande… … Wikipédia en Français
Alexander Stuart (homme politique australien) — Alexander Stuart Pour les articles homonymes, voir Stuart. Sir Alexander Stuart (21 mars 1824 – 16 juin 1886) est un homme politique australien qui fut Premier Ministre de Nouvelle Galles du Sud du 5 janvier 1883 au 7 octobre 1885. Il était connu … Wikipédia en Français
Parkes — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Alexander Parkes (1813−1890), englischer Metallurge und Erfinder Broc Parkes (* 1981), australischer Motorradrennfahrer Frank Kobina Parkes, ghanaischer Journalist und Autor Henry Parkes (1815–1896), aus… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Parkes-Prozess — [pɑːks ; nach dem britischen Metallurgen Alexander Parkes, * 1813, ✝ 1890], Parkes Verfahren, wichtiges Verfahren zur Anreicherung und Abtrennung von Silber aus silberhaltigem Werkblei. Durch Zugabe von Zink zur Bleischmelze scheidet sich ein… … Universal-Lexikon
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Alexander Stuart (politicien australien) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Stuart. Sir Alexander Stuart (21 mars 1824 – 16 juin 1886) est un homme politique australien qui fut Premier Ministre de Nouvelle Galles du Sud du 5 janvier 1883 au 7 octobre 1885. Il était connu pour sa grande… … Wikipédia en Français
