| Authorised form of name | Rigg; Robert (1792 - 1861); chemist |
| Dates | 1792 - 1861 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Bowstead [Boustead] Hill, Burgh-by-Sands, Cumbria, England |
| Date of birth | 03 June 1792 |
| Place of death | Greenford Hall, Middlesex, England |
| Date of death | 26 February 1861 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial: Greenfordd Church, Middlesex, England |
| Occupation | Chemist; brewer |
| Research field | Organic chemistry |
| Activity | Education: Early education under Reverend Mr Milner; later transferred to Green Row School, Abbey Holme, exact dates unknown.
Career: Joined his eldest brother at his newly established brewery business at Whitehaven, Cumbria, England, where the act of malting and brewing ignited his interest in chemistry (1814); moved to London, embarked on a career in chemistry, and entered into an agreement with Messrs Burnett, vinegar manufacturers of Vauxhall (1823-4); gave his undivided attention to organic chemistry and spent all his time in his laboratory (1835); elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (1839); removed from Chatham Place, Walworth Road to Greenford Hall, Middlesex (1841) where he busily engaged himself in experiments and writing out his manuscript for his book "Experimental Researches, Chemical and Agricultural, showing Carbon to be a compound Body, made by Plants, and decomposed by Putrefaction" (1844); intended to publish "On Analysis" but his failing health prevented him from doing so and soon afterward he was forced to abandon science (c.1850s).
Honours:
Lectures: |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 25/04/1839 |
| Age at election | 47 |
| RSActivity | Published numerous papers between 1836-1846.
Hi first essay "Experimental Inquiry into Fermentation" was communicated to the Royal Society in 1836 by his chemist friend, William Thomas Brande (FRS 1809). |
| Relationships | Parents: Robinson Rigg and Jane Rigg (née Peat), daughter of Robert and Mary Peat of Seaville, an established yeoman family in the Abbey Holme
Siblings: Joseph Rigg
Spouse: Anne Maria Perry (January 1834), orphaned daughter of Samuel Perry, Esq, London, she died of cholera (August 1834) |
| PublishedWorks | RCN R60919 |
| OtherInfo | Made significant contributions to the field of chemistry, with several of his research papers published by the Royal Society and the British Association. He investigated topics such as vinous fermentation, chemical changes in seeds during germination, and the nature of carbon.
Notably held a unique view that carbon was a compound body, contrary to prevailing scientific beliefs. These views did not gain wide acceptance within the scientific community and faced significant opposition, including from prominent chemists Justus Liebig (FRS 1840) and Jean-Baptiste Boussingault. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll
Lonsdale, Henry, 1867, "The worthies of Cumberland", London, George Routledge & sons |
| Code | NA2868 |
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1839/23 | Rigg, Robert: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| MC/2/228 | Letter from Robert Rigg, 2 Chatham Place, Walworth Road, to Dr. [Peter Mark] Roget, [Secretary of the Royal Society] | 26 October 1836 |
| RR/1bis/39 | Letter from Robert Rigg, regarding a paper 'An experimental inquiry into the influence nitrogen on the growth of plants' by Robert Rigg | 2 August 1838 |
| RR/1bis/37 | Referee's report by William Hasledine Pepys, on a paper 'An experimental inquiry into the influence nitrogen on the growth of plants' by Robert Rigg | 13 July 1838 |
| RR/1bis/38 | Referee's report by an unknown referee [Thomas Mecham], on a paper 'An experimental inquiry into the influence nitrogen on the growth of plants' by Robert Rigg | [1838] |
| RR/1/202 | Letter from Robert Rigg, on his paper 'A statement of experiments showing that carbon and nitrogen are compound bodies, and are made by plants during their growth' to the Royal Society | 1 June 1843 |
| RR/1/200 | Referee's report by the Committee of Chemistry, on a paper 'An experimental inquiry into the formation of alkaline and earthy bodies, with reference to their presence in plants, the influence of carbonic acid in their generation, and the equilibrium of this gas in the atmosphere' by Robert Rigg | 8 May 1839 |
| MS/426/1 | Copy letter from Lord Northampton [Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton] President of the Royal Society, to Robert Rigg, Esq FRS, 2 Chatham Place, Walworth | 19 December 1840 |
| RR/1/204 | Referee's report by George Leith Roupell, on a paper 'Experiments relative to animal temperature, showing that there must be some source of animal heat besides the combustion of the carbon and the hydrogen contained in the food of animals' by Robert Rigg | 25 June 1846 |
| RR/1/201 | Referee's report by Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny, on a paper 'Experiments on the chemical constitution of several bodies which undergo the vinous fermentation, and on certain results of the chemical action' by Robert Rigg | 2 July 1836 |
| MC/2 | Volume 2 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1832-1838 |
| MC/2/154 | Letter from Robert Rigg, 2 Chatham Place, Walworth Road, to Dr. [Peter Mark] Roget, Secretary of the Royal Society | 11 January 1835 |
| MC/2/201 | Letter from Robert Rigg, Walworth Road, to Dr. Peter Mark Roget, [Secretary of the Royal Society], Bernard Street | 7 April 1836 |
| MC/2/229 | Letter from [Robert Rigg], 2 Chatham Place, Walworth Road, to [Dr. Peter Mark Roget, Secretary of the Royal Society] | 28 October 1836 |
| MC/3 | Volume 3 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1839-1843 |
| MC/3/123 | Letter from Robert Rigg, 2 Chatham Place, Walworth Road, to the Marquis of Northampton, President of the Royal Society | 9 December 1840 |
| MA/127/3 | Letter from Robert Rigg, Greenford, Middlesex, to J.B. [John David] Roberton, Royal Society, Somerset House, London | 31 March 1842 |
| AP/22/15 | Unpublished paper, 'On the ultimate analysis of organic compounds' by Robert Rigg | 1838 |
| AP/23/18 | Unpublished paper, 'Additional experiments on the fermentation of alkaline and earthy bodies by chemical action when carbonic acid is present' by Robert Rigg | June 1839 |
| AP/23/17 | Unpublished paper, 'Experiments on the chemical constitution of several bodies which undergo the vinous fermentation and on certain results of that chemical action' by Robert Rigg | 1839 |
| AP/23/17/2 | Unpublished diagram, vinous fermentation experimental setup by Robert Rigg | 1839 |
| AP/23/17/1 | Unpublished manuscript, 'Experiments on the chemical constitution of several bodies which undergo the vinous fermentation and on certain results of that chemical action' by Robert Rigg | 1839 |
| RR/1/203 | Referee's report by George Owen Rees, on a paper 'Experiments relative to animal temperature, showing that there must be some source of animal heat besides the combustion of the carbon and the hydrogen contained in the food of animals' by Robert Rigg | 27 October 1846 |
| AP/27/20 | Unpublished paper, 'On the formation or secretion of alkaline and earthy bodies by animals' by Robert Rigg | 6 January 1845 |
| AP/23/15 | Unpublished paper, 'An experimental inquiry into the formation of alkaline and earthy bodies with reference to their presence in plants, the influence of carbonic acid in their generation, and the equilibrium of this gas in the atmosphere' by Robert Rigg | January 1839 |
| AP/28/19 | Unpublished paper, 'Experiments relative to animal temperature, showing that there must be some source of animal heat besides, the combustion of the carbon and the hydrogen contained in the food of animals' by Robert Rigg | 26 May 1846 |
| AP/23/16 | Unpublished paper, 'An experimental inquiry into the influence of nitrogen in promoting vegetable decomposition, and the connexion of this process with the growth of plants' by Robert Rigg | March 1839 |
| AP/27/8 | Unpublished paper, 'Experimental evidence in support of the secretion of carbon by animals' by Robert Rigg | March 1844 |
| MA/127/2 | Letter from Robert Rigg, Greenford, Middlesex, to J.B. [John David] Roberton, Royal Society, Somerset House | 2 March 1842 |
| MA/127 | Meteorological observations at Greenford, England, by Robert Rigg | 1 December 1841-30 June 1842 |
| MA/127/6 | Meteorological observations at Greenford, England, by [Robert Rigg] | 1-30 June 1842 |
| MA/127/1 | Meteorological observations at Greenford, England, by [Robert Rigg] | 1-31 December 1841 |
| MA/127/5 | Meteorological observations at Greenford, England, by [Robert Rigg] | 2-31 May 1842 |
| MA/127/4 | Meteorological observations at Greenford, England, by [Robert Rigg] | 1-30 April 1842 |
| MC/17 | Volume 17 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1897-1899 |
| MS/951 | Patent for apparatus employed in the distillation of vinegar, granted to Robert Rigg | 1827 |