-
101 Johnson, Percival Norton
SUBJECT AREA: Metallurgy[br]b. 29 September 1792 London, Englandd. 1 June 1866 Stoke Fleming, Devon, England[br]English chemist, assayer, mining engineer and founder of the firm Johnson Matthey.[br]He was the son of John Johnson, then sole Commercial Assayer in London, from whom he inherited his aptitude for chemistry and metallurgy. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to his father by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. Ore samples then being analysed in Johnson's office introduced him to the new metal platinum, and resulted in a paper to Philosophical Magazine in 1812. Johnson established himself as a "practical mineralogist" in Maiden Lane, London, in 1818 and in Hatton Garden after 1822. He was greatly assisted by a fellow metallurgist, Thomas Cock (1787–1842), who developed the platinum fabrication and pigment sides of die business. In 1827 Johnson was consulted by the Russian government about the exploitation of the rich platinum deposits that had been discovered in the Urals in 1819. Between 1829 and 1832 Johnson became the first in England to manufacture nickel, extracted from nickel-bearing material imported from Germany at his plant at Bow Common on the Regent's Canal. In 1832 he began to réfine gold imported from the Imperial Brazilian Association by a process which separated without loss the metals silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium and iridium. This profitable activity continued until the Brazilian company was wound up in 1852. Since 1824, Johnson had been named "assay master" by a number of mining companies. From 1843 until the mid-1850s he had a considerable mining interest in the West Country. Meanwhile, the Hatton Garden establishment continued to prosper. In 1839 he was joined by George Matthey, who particularly fostered the Russian platinum business, and in 1851 he was taken unto partnership and the firm became the celebrated Johnson Matthey. In the following year the firm was officially recognized as one of the four Assayers to the Bank of England appointed to handle the flood of gold dust then arriving in England from the Australian gold fields. Soon after, however, ill health compelled him to retire to his Devon country house.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsFRS 1846.Bibliography1812, "Experiments which prove platina, when combined with gold and silver, to be soluble in nitric acid", Philosophical Magazine (1st series) 40(171):3–4.Further ReadingD.McDonald, 1951, Percival Norton Johnson, London: Johnson Matthey (includes lists of his publications and his honours and awards).——1964, The Johnsons of Morden Lane, London: Martins.——1960, A History of Platinum, London: Johnson Matthey.ASDBiographical history of technology > Johnson, Percival Norton
См. также в других словарях:
Assay office — Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metal items, to protect consumers. Upon successful completion of the assay, (i.e. the metallurgical content is found to be equal or better than that claimed by the maker … Wikipedia
assay office — ➔ office * * * assay office UK US noun [C] ► an office where objects made of gold, silver, etc. are given an official mark to show how pure the metal in them is … Financial and business terms
Assay Office (Boise, Idaho) — Infobox nrhp | name =Assay Office nrhp type =nhl caption = location= 210 Main Street, Boise, Idaho lat degrees = 43 lat minutes = 36 lat seconds = 40.98 lat direction = N long degrees = 116 long minutes = 11 long seconds = 45.03 long direction =… … Wikipedia
assay office — noun : a government or commercial office and laboratory in which assays are made (as of precious metals) * * * a local testing station for assaying ore, as gold or silver, esp. a government station maintained in connection with the registration… … Useful english dictionary
Assay Office — The U.S. Assay Office, under the Bureau of the Mint, is responsible for the process of assaying gold and silver, required by government, incidental to maintaining the coinage … Black's law dictionary
Assay Office — The U.S. Assay Office, under the Bureau of the Mint, is responsible for the process of assaying gold and silver, required by government, incidental to maintaining the coinage … Black's law dictionary
Sheffield Assay Office — The Sheffield Assay Office is one of the four remaining Assay Offices in the UK. Overview In 1773, Sheffield s silversmiths joined with those of Birmingham to petition Parliament for the establishment of Assay Offices in their respective cities.… … Wikipedia
Birmingham Assay Office — ] The hallmark of the Birmingham Assay Office is the Anchor, and that of the Sheffield Assay Office was the Crown. A story about the origins of this hallmark go that meetings prior to the inauguration of both Birmingham and Sheffield Assay… … Wikipedia
Dublin Assay Office — The Dublin Assay Office was established in 1637 to supervise the assaying of all gold and silver throughout the whole kingdom of Ireland. Originally, hallmarks consisted of the goldsmiths proper mark which was the maker s mark originally used to… … Wikipedia
Assay Office mark — ➡ hallmarks * * * … Universalium
assay office — a local testing station for assaying ore, as gold or silver, esp. a government station maintained in connection with the registration of mineral claims, purchases of gold, or the like. [1765 75] * * * … Universalium
