Peter Phillips Bedson

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Peter Philips Bedson (1853-1943) was Professor of Chemistry at The College of Physical Science, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (later renamed Armstrong College, now Kings College) who worked on the humanitarian applications of chemistry to lead poisoning and the explosive properties of coal dust.

Contents

Early life

Peter Philips Bedson was born in Manchester on 2nd April 1853; [1] [2] [3] his father, George Bedson was the inventor of the continuous steel rolling mill in 1862. [4] He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Owens College, Manchester, where he worked under Henry Roscoe; he spent 1875 in London as a Dalton Scholar and then spent two years working with August Kekulé in the University of Bonn. [1] [2] He moved back to Owens College on the staff of Henry Roscoe for the years 1878-82. [2]

Academic career at Newcastle-upon-Tyne

In 1882, at the age of 29, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the College of Physical Science, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (later renamed Armstrong College, now Kings College) where he remained until his retirement in 1921. During this period, he abandoned study of pure chemistry to apply his talents to the application of chemistry for humanitarian purposes. [1] He investigated the toxicology of White Lead in the context of workers in the local chemical industry. [1] He was involved in analysing the gases associated with insanitary buildings. [5] He is best known for his work on the explosive properties of coal dust, a topic of great concern to coal miners and the union leader John Forman. [1] [2] As well as his lectures at the college, he presented extramural lectures to: the National Registration of Plumbers, [6] Colliery Managers, [7] Mining Engineers [8] and the general public. [9] Along with his colleagues at the College of Physical Science : George Alexander Louis Lebour and Michael Cressé Potter, Bedson was an honorary member of the Vale of Derwent Naturalists' Field Club.

Legacy

The Bedson Building of the University of Newcastle is named after him. [10] His son, Sir Samuel Phillips Bedson FRS, was a British microbiologist. [11] In 1933, a photograph of Bedson was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, London. [12] In 1937, the University of Durham conferred the honorary degree of D.C.L on Bedson. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Smythe, J. A.; Soper, F. G.; Smith, Alex. M.; Allmand, A. J.; Gardner, J. A.; Carr, Francis H.; Morrell, R. S.; Seligman, Richard (1944). "Obituary notices: Peter Phillips Bedson, 1853–1943; Henry George Denham, 1880–1943; Alexander Lauder, 1870–1943; Ernest Wilson McClelland , 1896–1943; Henry Forster Morley, 1855–1943; William Colebrook Reynolds, 1870–1940; Siegfried Ruhemann, 1859–1943; Percy Williams, 1873–1942". J. Chem. Soc. 0 (0): 40–48. doi:10.1039/JR9440000040. ISSN   0368-1769.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Clemo, G. R. (1943-05-01). "Prof. P. P. Bedson". Nature. 151 (3835): 496–497. doi:10.1038/151496a0. ISSN   0028-0836.
  3. ↑ "Bedson, Peter Phillips, (2 April 1853–4 April 1943), Hon. Member of Institution of Mining Engineers, and of North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers; Greenwell Gold Medallist of North of England Institution of Mining and Mechanical Engineers; Hon. Member of Coke Oven Managers Association; President, Section B. British Association, 1919", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 2007-12-01, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u222443 , retrieved 2025-12-18
  4. ↑ Duffy, M.C. (1980). "The evolution of the metal-working rolling-mill in the 19th century". Journal of Mechanical Working Technology. 3 (3–4): 341–355. doi:10.1016/0378-3804(80)90052-2.
  5. ↑ "Local Sanitation, The Foul Air in Public Buildings". Newcastle Daily Chronicle. 1888-07-28. p. 4.
  6. ↑ "National Registration of Plumbers". Durham Chronicle. 1898-03-25. p. 4.
  7. ↑ "The National Association of Colliery Managers Mining Lectures". Alfreton Journal. 1894-12-14. p. 5.
  8. ↑ "Mining Engineers: The principle of the coal-dust theory". Sheffield Independent. 1910-06-04. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "The Durham College of Science: Free Popular Lectures". Newcastle Journal. 1902-10-03. p. 1.
  10. ↑ "Great and Good Campus Buildings".
  11. ↑ "Bedson, Sir Samuel Phillips, (1 Dec. 1886–11 May 1969), Professor Emeritus of Bacteriology, London University, since 1952", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 2007-12-01, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u53947 , retrieved 2025-12-18
  12. ↑ "Peter Phillips Bedson". National Portrait Gallery.
  13. ↑ "Honorary Degrees". Sunderland Daily Echo. 1937-07-01. p. 11.
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