Person Davy; Edmund (1785 - 1857); chemist Davy Edmund chemist 1785 - 1857 British Male Penzance, Cornwall, England 1785 1785 Kimmage Lodge, Kimmage, County Dublin, Ireland 05 November 1857 18571105 Burial: St Mary's churchyard, Crumlin

Cork, Ireland (1825)

Chemist Electrochemistry Metallurgy Chemistry Education: Penzance Career: Went to London (1804); Laboratory Operator and Assistant, Royal Institution, through the influence of Humphry Davy; had control of the laboratory (1804-1813); Professor, Royal Cork Institution (1813); Professor of Chemistry, Royal Dublin Society (1826); wrote on agricultural chemistry, electro-chemistry and metallurgy; professor of agricultural chemistry at the Royal Dublin Society (1856) Memberships: Chemical Society of London Royal Irish Academy Société Française Statistique Universelle (honorary) Parents: William Davy and M[ary?] Ann Cousins: Sir Humphry Davy (FRS 1803); John Davy (FRS 1814) Spouse: Phillis Emma Barry, only daughter of David Barry of Dundulrick, co. Cork. Children: Edmund William (1826–c.1900) Discovered acetylene. Accidentally discovered a gas which he described as "a new carburet of hydrogen", while attempting to isolate potassium metal. First to discover a spongy form of platinum with remarkable gas absorptive properties. Performed a series of experiments to detect the presence of metallic poisons by means of electricity, as a test of the presence of poisonous substances in cases of suspected poisoning. Found that the use of zinc blocks would prevent corrosion of the iron structure of buoys. Epecially interested in the applications of chemistry in agriculture. Studied peat, as well as the uptake of arsenic by crops from artificial manures chemically prepared with sulphuric acid. An original member of the Chemical Society. Fellow 12 May 1825 40 George Pearson William Hasledine Pepys James South John George Children Frans Beaufort William Hyde Wollaston Davies Gilbert John Guillemard William Babington Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Notes: Citation: first 'being' deliberately obscured & '[...] ... being' inserted; small sections of certificate missing International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Davy%2C+Edmund RCN 35736 RCN 35737 1785 - 5 Nov 1857 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 30/04/2025 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA7507 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 30/04/2025 RS_NET\VidaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/41134825 6adfaa48-6fb9-4482-b27c-5446b2a044d1