Robert Warington and Heinrich Will: Friendship and Co-operation in Chemistry in Nineteenth Century Britain and Germany

Abstract

This paper discusses fourteen letters that Heinrich Will (1812–1890), Justus Liebig’s (1803–1873) successor at the University of Giessen, sent to Robert Warington (1807–1867), the chemical operator at Apothecaries’ Hall in London, between 1842 and 1854. The correspondence illuminates a range of topics related to the development of the British chemical community in mid-Victorian Britain – its organisations, networks, and commercial opportunities, as well as offering insights into the importance of family, friendship, and collegiality in sustaining scientific careers. Studying such an exchange of material and textual knowledge helps to further understand how science was organised and ideas disseminated in a key period for institutional development in chemistry.