| Authorised form of name | Keir; James (1735 - 1820); chemist |
| Dates | 1735 - 1820 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Date of birth | 29 September 1735 |
| Place of death | West Bromwich, Staffordshire |
| Date of death | 11 October 1820 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
West Bromwich churchyard, Staffordshire |
| Research field | Chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
Edinburgh University (medicine)
Career:
Entered the Army (1757-1766); started a business as a glass manufacturer (1775); gave it up to take charge of Boulton's Soho factory in his absence; established alkali works,Tipton (1780); close friend of Erasmus Darwin (FRS 1761) and friend of Matthew Boulton (FRS 1785), James Watt (FRS 1785) and of Joseph Priestley (FRS 1766)
Memberships:
Lunar Society
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 08/12/1785 |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB
References:
Robert E Schofield, 'The Lunar Society of Birmingham; A Bicentenary Appraisal' in NR 1966 vol 21 pp 144-161
Barbara M D Smith and J L Moilliet, 'James Keir of the Lunar Society' in NR 1967 vol 22 pp 144-154, plate
Jennifer S Pugh and John Hudson, 'The Chemical Work of James Watt, FRS' in NR 1985-86 vol 40 pp 41-52
Desmond King-Hele, 'The 1997 Wilkins Lecture: Erasmus Darwin, the Lunaticks and Evolution' in NR 1998 vol 52 pp 153-180
N G Coley, 'George Pearson MD, FRS (1751-1828): 'The greatest chemist in England'? in NR 2003 vol 57 pp
161-175
D King-Hele, 'Makers of the future. The Lunar Men: the friends who made the future, by J Uglow' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 348 - 350
Notes:
At head of election certificate: Compounded |
| Code | NA8245 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| MM/6/2 | Letter from Joseph Banks, Soho Square, to James Keir | 14 February 1780 |
| MM/6/3 | Letter from Joseph Banks, Soho Square, to James Keir | 17 February 1780 |
| MM/6/1 | Letter from Joseph Banks, Soho Square, to James Keir | 12 February 1780 |
| IM/002493 | Keir, James | nd |
| NLB/66/331 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Richard Pilcher Esq., Registrar and Secretary, Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain, Russell Square, W.C | 10 April 1924 |
| L&P/6/182 | Paper, 'Of crystallizations in glass' by James Keir | 1776 |
| L&P/9/44 | Paper, 'Experiments on the congelation of the vitriolic acid' by James Keir | 1787 |
| EC/1785/14 | Keir, James: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| L&P/9/171 | Paper, 'Experiments and observations on the dissolution of metals in acids, and the precipitations; with an account of a new compound acid menstrum' by James Keir | 1790 |
| L&P/9/87 | Letter, 'Additional experiments and observations relating to the principle of acidity, the decomposition of water and phlogiston' from James Keir to Joseph Priestley | 26 March 1788 |