The Art of the Soluble: Science and Scientists at Durham*

Abstract

Abstract The beginnings of the two periods with which this paper is concerned are almost one hundred years apart. Science teaching began at the University of Durham in 1833 and, although successful for a time, was followed by a long period of inactivity before being re-established in 1924. The College of Physical Science, later to be known as Armstrong College and part of the University of Durham, began at Newcastle in 1871. In the early nineteenth century, science, referred to as Natural Philosophy, was a discursive subject, individual, occasional, and largely of amateur status. There were few scientific journals, and very little science teaching in schools. In London, University College and King’s College, together with a number of other institutions which later formed the University of London, pioneered the teaching of science and engineering. University College was founded in 1826 and when it opened in 1828 had Professors of Chemistry, Physics, and Botany. King’s College, founded in 1829, opened in 1831 and also taught science from the beginning. The Royal College of Chemistry, one of the early forerunners of Imperial College, began teaching in 1845. At Oxford in the 1830s, attendance at chemistry and experimental philosophy lectures had declined and ‘Oxford was lost to science for a number of years’. At Cambridge, although a strong emphasis was placed on mathematical studies, the ‘Senior Wrangler being held in the very highest esteem’ , scientific studies were a neglected part of the curriculum. In Scotland, however, science was already well established and popular and the contribution of the Scottish universities at this time was of fundamental importance. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh trained several notable chemists in the early nineteenth century.