James Tennant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 8 February 1808 Upton, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Died | 23 February 1881 (aged 73) London, England |
| Citizenship | British |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mineralogy |
| Institutions | King's College London, Geological Society, RMA |
James Tennant (8 February 1808 – 23 February 1881) was an English mineralogist, the master of the Worshipful Company of Turners and mineralogist to Queen Victoria. [1]
Tennant was born on 8 February 1808 at Upton, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire. He was the third child in a family of twelve. His father, John Tennant, was an officer in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise; his mother, Eleanor Kitchen, came from a family of yeomen resident at Upton for more than two centuries. His parents later moved to Derby, and Tennant attended a school in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. [1]
In October 1824, Tennant was apprenticed to John Mawe, a dealer in minerals at 149 Strand in London. After Mawe's death [1] in 1829, [2] Tennant managed the business with Mawe's widow, Sarah Mawe, who became known as "Mineralogist to Her Majesty". He purchased Sarah's share of the business on her retirement in 1840. [3]
Tennant attended classes at a mechanics' institute and the lectures of Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution in London. In 1838, on Faraday's recommendation, Tennant was appointed teacher of geological mineralogy at King's College London, later a professor. In 1853 the professorship of geology was added, but he resigned that post in 1869, retaining the other till his death. From 1850 to 1867, Tennant was also a lecturer on geology and mineralogy at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Tennant had an excellent practical knowledge of minerals; when diamonds were first found in South Africa, Tennant verified that they were indeed genuine. [1]
Tennant was an earnest advocate of technical education, giving his own money liberally to help, and persuading the Turners' Company, of which he was master in 1874, to offer prizes for excellence in their craft. When the Koh-i-Noor diamond was recut, Tennant superintended the work In 1840, he becoming mineralogist to Queen Victoria in 1840, taking over from Sarah Mawe [3] Tennant also had oversight of Miss Burdett-Coutts's collection of minerals. [1]
Tennant was elected a fellow of the Geological Society in 1838, and president of the Geologists' Association (1862–3).
Tennant died in London on 23 February 1881. He never married.
A portrait of Tennant, painted by Rogers, was in the collection of Lady Burdett-Coutts. A copy was placed in the Strand vestry in commemoration of his services to the church schools and parish. [1]
Tennant wrote the following books or pamphlets: [1]
He also, in conjunction with David Thomas Ansted and Walter Mitchell, contributed Geology, Mineralogy, and Crystallography to Orr's Circle of Sciences in 1855. He also produced two or three scientific papers, one on the Koh-i-Noor. [1]
The Koh-i-Noor, also spelt Koh-e-Noor, Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing 105.6 carats (21.12 g). It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crystal systems independently of Christian Samuel Weiss.
James Dwight DanaFRS FRSE was an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcanic activity, and the origin and structure of continents and oceans around the world.
Alexander Evgenyevich Fersman was a prominent Soviet Russian geochemist and mineralogist, and a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1919–1945).
Emil Wilhelm Cohen was a German mineralogist and petrographer, born in Jutland.
William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett Burdett-Coutts, born William Lehman Ashmead-Bartlett, was an American-born British Conservative politician and social climber who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1921.
Robert Hunt was a British mineralogist, as well as an antiquarian, an amateur poet, and an early pioneer of photography. He was born at Devonport, Plymouth and died in London on 17 October 1887.
Matthew FlemingStephenson (1802–1882) was an American miner, geologist, and mineralogist based in the US state of Georgia. He was one of the first collectors of lazulite, rutile, pyrophyllite, and other minerals. A phrase he said while encouraging people not to leave Georgia for the California Gold Rush, "There's gold in them thar hills", is commonly referenced in American popular culture.
Thomas Allan of Lauriston FRS FRSE FSA FLS was a British mineralogist.
Sir Arthur Edward Ian Montague Russell, 6th Baronet, was a British mineralogist of the 20th century. He was a collector and a collector of collections.
The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in the world, after the Geological Society of London which was founded in 1807.
John Mawe was a British mineralogist who became known for his practical approach to the discipline.
John James Masquerier was a British painter of French Huguenot descent. His work was mainly portrait painting, including of notables such as Lady Hamilton.
Walter Flight, was an English mineralogist who studied the chemical composition of meteorites. He published academic papers on the chemical composition of meteorites in both Germany and the United Kingdom. He also worked for the British Museum, the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and on a committee appointed by the British Science Association, then known as the British Association.
Hilary Bauerman was an English metallurgist, mineralogist and geologist.
Sarah Mawe (1767-1846) was an English mineralogist of the 19th century, appointed to serve Queen Victoria in that capacity from 1837 to 1840.
Henry Garber Hanks was an American mineralogist. He was the first state mineralogist of California.
Axotomous antimony glance — is a partially obsolete, now trivial name under which at least two related minerals from the subclass of sulfosalts, containing antimony, lead and sulfur were known in mineralogy and mineragraphy. Moreover, all three words in the title had meaningful meaning from the point of view of scientific terminology.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : "Tennant, James (1808-1881)". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
