Rutherford, Daniel

Richter, Jermias Benjamin, 31, 32 Rockefeller, John D., 305 Roebuck, John, 290 Roentgen, Wilhelm Conrad, 38, 46 Rouelle, Giullame Francois, 25 Rowland, F. Sherwood, 265, 266 Rutherford, Daniel, 22 Rutherford, Ernest, 37, 39... 

Rutherford, Daniel (1749-1819) Scottish chemist and physician who is most famous for the isolation of nitrogen in 1772. 

CH would like to thank Daniel Bowron (CLRC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory), Fred Mosselmanns (CLRC, Daresbury Laboratory), Will Pitner (The Queen s University of Belfast), Nick Terrill (CLRC, Daresbury Laboratory), and Philip Watson (University of Oregon) for contributing figures, as well as for useful discussions and comments in the preparation of this manuscript. 

Nitrogen (N, [He]2s22/ 3), symbol and name after the Greek words vi/rpov stvo— par (nitre forming) because it is a constituent of nitric acid and nitrates. Discovered (1772) by Daniel Rutherford. 

Nitrogen - the atomic number is 7 and the chemical symbol is N. The name derives from the Latin nitrum and Greek nitron for native soda and genes for forming because of nitrogen s presence in potassium nitrate (KNO3), so called salpeter or nitre or native soda. It was discovered by the Scottish physician and chemist Daniel Rutherford in 1772. 

Nitrogen N 1772 (Edinburgh, Scotland) Daniel Rutherford (Scottish) 207... 

British chemist Daniel Rutherford In pure form, a relatively unreactive gas makes up about three-quarters of the Earth s atmosphere important constituent of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and proteins. 

McKee, D., Daniel Rutherford and the discovery of nitrogen, Sci. Progress,... 

Daniel Rutherford, 1749-1819, Scottish physician, botanist, and chemist. Discoverer of nitrogen. Professor of botany at Edinburgh, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. 

Although the statement that nitrogen was discovered tn 1772 by Daniel Rutherford appears in most histories of chemistry, this Scottish scientist has remained almost unknown to chemists. Nevertheless, the life story and personal character of Dr. Rutherford emerge from the correspondence of his distinguished nephew, Sir Walter Scott, in a most pleasing manner. Both Dr. Rutherford and his father served as physicians to the Scott family, and the great novelist s allusions to them combine admiration, sincere affection, and pardonable family pride. 

The correspondence of Sir Walter Scott, his family genealogy, and the ten-volume biography by his son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart, contain frequent allusions to Scott s grandfather, Dr. John Rutherford, one of the founders of the medical school at the University of Edinburgh, and to his uncle, Dr. Daniel Rutherford, who is usually regarded as the discoverer of the element nitrogen. In the genealogy of the Scott family one may read ... 

By his first wife, Jean Swinton, Professor John Rutherford had a son, John, who died young, and a daughter Anne, who married0 Walter Scott, writer to the Signet, and became the mother of Sir Walter Scott Bart. He married, secondly, on the 9th August, 1743, Anne M Kay, by whom he had five sons and three daughters.. . . Daniel Rutherford, second son of Professor John Rufcher-... 

As might be expected, the Rutherfords, both father and son, served as physicians to the Scott family. When Sir Walter was only eighteen months old, Ins right leg became paralyzed, and, after the best physicians had failed in their attempts to restore the use of it, his grandfather, Dr. John Rutherford, had him sent to live in the country (3, 4). During a serious illness in later life, Scott submitted without a murmur to the severe discipline prescribed by his affectionate physician [Dr. Daniel] Rutherford. . . (5). 

According to Lockhart, Dr. Daniel Rutherford inherited much of the general accomplishments, as well as the professional reputation, of his... 

Herman Boerhaave, 1668-1738. Dutch physician, anatomist, chemist, and botanist. The Edinburgh Medical School was founded by pupils of Boerhaave while he was still m his pmne. John Rutherford, father of Daniel Rutherford, was one of his devoted disciples. See also ref. (42). 

Sir Walter Scott, 1771-1832. Scottish novelist and poet. His writings contain many interesting allusions to his uncle, Dr. Daniel Rutherford. Scott s circle of friends included Dr William Hyde Wollaston, Sir David Brewster, Dr. John Davy, Sir Humphry Davy, and Joseph Black. 

Daniel Rutherford, the investigation of this residual air in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of medicine. 

---