Sir William Crookes: A Short Biography Nineteenth-Century British Chemist and Spiritualist

By Doug West

During his long career, the English chemist and entrepreneur, Sir William Crookes, was able to make significant contributions to photography, chemistry, physics, agricultural science, public health, and scientific journalism. Historians of science have recognized Crookes for his brilliance as an experimental researcher and his controversial investigations into spiritualistic phenomena; however, he made his living primarily as a science journalist and editor. His interests were eclectic, ranging from pure and applied science, economic and practical problems, and psychic research. He is credited with the discovery of the element thallium, investigations of cathode rays, and invention of the radiometer. He held patents on early light bulbs and his improvements in vacuum pump technology were key to the development of electric lighting and the discovery of the X-ray. His wide range of interests and prolific publication of his and others’ works made him a well-known personality within the late Victorian era scientific community. By the turn of the twentieth-century he was regarded as Britain’s leading scientist.

“Sir William Crookes: A Short Biography” reveals the life and times of one of the great scientific minds of the nineteenth-century.

30-Minute Book Series
This is the 35th book in the 30-Minute Book Series. Books in this series are fast-paced, accurate, and cover the story in as much detail as a short book possibly can. Most people complete each book in less than an hour, which makes the books in the series a perfect companion for your lunch hour or a little down time.

About the Author
Doug West is a retired engineer and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with special expertise in history, science, biographies, and “How To” topics. Doug has a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: Jan 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463745434

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

Sir William Crookes: A Short Biography

Nineteenth-Century British Chemist and Spiritualist

By Doug West, Ph.D.

Sir William Crookes: A Short Biography

Nineteenth-Century British Chemist and Spiritualist

Copyright © 2019 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

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For my grandson Isaiah

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Early Years

Chapter 2 - Scientific investigations and Discoveries

Chapter 3 - Spiritualism

Chapter 4 - Electric Lighting

Chapter 5 - Research Continues

Chapter 6 - The Sage of Chemical Physics

Timeline

Biographical Sketches

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Additional Books by Doug West

Preface

Welcome to the book, Sir William Crookes: A Short Biography. This book is volume 35 of the 30 Minute Book Series and, as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book will take around 30 minutes to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing biography of William Crookes, you may want to know more about this man and his accomplishments. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events in Crookes’ life, and a section titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book, and I hope you enjoy your time reading about this legendary nineteenth-century scientist.

Doug West

January 2019

Introduction

During his long career, the English chemist, Sir William Crookes, was able to make significant contributions to photography, chemistry, physics, agricultural science, public health, and scientific journalism. He had a talent for investigating the unusual, which probably brought him to the study of psychic phenomenon. Historians of science have recognized Crookes for his brilliance as an experimental researcher and his controversial support for spiritualistic phenomena; however, he made his living primarily as a science journalist and editor. His interests were eclectic, ranging from pure and applied science, economic and practical problems, and psychic research. He is credited with the discovery of the element thallium and invention of the Crookes tube and the radiometer. He held patents on early light bulbs and his improvements in vacuum pump technology were key to the development of