George E. Davis (1850–1907): Transition From Consultant Chemist to Consultant Chemical Engineer in a Period of Economic Pressure

Abstract

This article explores how George Davis’s vision for chemical engineering was contingent upon both the national economic conditions of the period (1870–1900) and the critical transition to more economic production for chemical manufacture. Trade tariffs and international competition exacerbated an already challenging economic climate and stricter government regulation of pollution from chemical manufactories added further pressure. Sectors of the British chemical industry faced over-capacity and over-production, while most sectors were wasteful of materials and energy and were over-manned. Davis’s motivation was borne of his work as a chemist, as a consultant, and as an inspector with the Alkali Inspectorate. His search for knowledge and understanding was garnered from on-going investigations in the field and in his Technical Laboratory, coupled with developments in equipment and machinery. Recognising his own limited capability to overhaul the British chemical industry, Davis promoted his framework of chemical engineering to increase the cadre of chemical engineers.