Charles Macintosh
British chemist (1766–1843)
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Key Takeaways
- Charles Macintosh FRS (29 December 1766 – 25 July 1843) was a Scottish chemist and the inventor of the modern waterproof raincoat.
- Biography Macintosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of George Macintosh and Mary Moore, and was first employed as a clerk.
- In this he was highly successful and invented various new processes.
- The rubber is made soluble by the action of the naphtha.
- Macintosh married Mary Fisher in 1790, daughter of Alexander Fisher, a Glasgow merchant.
Charles Macintosh FRS (29 December 1766 – 25 July 1843) was a Scottish chemist and the inventor of the modern waterproof raincoat. The Mackintosh raincoat (the variant spelling is now standard) is named after him.
Biography
Macintosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of George Macintosh and Mary Moore, and was first employed as a clerk. Charles devoted his spare time to science, particularly chemistry, and before he was 20 resigned his clerkship to study under Joseph Black at the University of Edinburgh, and to take up the manufacture of chemicals. In this he was highly successful and invented various new processes. His experiments with naphtha led to his invention of waterproof rubberized fabric; the essence of his patent was the cementing of two thicknesses of cloth together with natural rubber. The rubber is made soluble by the action of the naphtha. The naphtha was prepared by distillation of coal tar, with the Bonnington Chemical Works being a major supplier.
Macintosh married Mary Fisher in 1790, daughter of Alexander Fisher, a Glasgow merchant. They had one son, George Macintosh (1791–1848) and one daughter, Mary Scott Macintosh.
In 1823, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society for his chemical discoveries. In 1828, he became a partner with James Beaumont Neilson in a firm to exploit the latter's patent for the hot blast blowing of blast furnaces, which saved considerably on their fuel consumption.
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