In this New Year I am continuing my series on famous chemists.  I must admit that this week’s chemist was not one familiar to me, but he should be.  On January 18 1825, Sir Edward Frankland was born in Lancaster, England, likely the son of a tawdry affair and probably the reason for his lack of publicity. Frankland attended grammar school before being apprenticed to a druggist. He worked in a variety of laboratories and as a science teacher before becoming a student at the University of Marburg, working with Robert Bunsen (of the burner fame). In time, Frankland would join the faculty of Putney College, the University of Manchester, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, the Royal School of Mines and the Royal Institution, London. 

Similar to most scientists of his time, Frankland performed research in what today appears to be a wide variety of subjects. His early research was focused on chemical syntheses, including the first organometallic compounds. He was the first to synthesize diethylzinc (from ethyl iodide and zinc) and dimethylzinc (from methyl iodide and zinc). From this work, he was able to deduce the theory of valency, a concept he originated. He published his theory of saturation capacity (now known as valence) in 1852, laying the groundwork for modern structural chemistry. 

Frankland, Norman Lockyer and Pierre Jules César Janssen discovered the element Helium. Prior to their discovery, Helium was just a predicted element. They noticed that there was a bright yellow line in the solar spectrum which did not correspond to any other substance known at the time. They were able to demonstrate this corresponded with Helium, thus becoming the first element discovered extraterrestrially before being discovered on the Earth. 

Frankland was not just a theoretical chemist. He was appointed to the Second Royal Commission on the pollution of rivers and used his laboratory equipment to advocate for the purification of water for domestic use. This provided for the data needed to ultimately clean and improve the water quality of the river. 

Frankland passed away on August 9, 1899 in Golaa, Norway. 

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