University Science, 1850–1910
By the mid-nineteenth century, Manchester scientists such as John Dalton and James Prescott Joule had won national renown, and its ‘civic’ scientists were making practical contributions to business and society.
In the longer term, however, Manchester’s reputation as a city of science depended on supporting advanced scientific teaching and research. Primarily, this meant university-based science. Owens College, established in 1851, was not itself a university, but by the early twentieth century it was seen as one of the country’s leading centres for scientific research.
- Chemistry: Frankland and Roscoe
- Physics: Schuster and Rutherford
- Discussion Points
- Additional Resources
Chemistry: Frankland and Roscoe
Chemistry emerged as the key science at Owens, and by the 1880s, the department was probably the most important in the country. This was unsurprising given its utility to Manchester’s economy and society. However, the department was also seen as a leader in pure research, consciously following the example of German universities.
Much of this was due to the College’s first two chemistry professors: Edward Frankland (1825–99) and Henry Roscoe (1834–1916). Both believed that chemistry was the basis for a mutually beneficial relationship between the College and local industries.
The chemistry syllabus devised by Frankland aimed to be practical; students studied acid manufacture, bleaching, gas production and public health chemistry, and they visited local firms to see chemical processes in action. Henry Roscoe, an energetic and visionary leader, ensured that chemistry was very well provided for when Owens College relocated to Oxford Road. Roscoe was a highly effective publicist and fund-raiser for the College, arguing that it offered a more innovative type of higher education than the traditional universities.
Roscoe believed that university science would be credible if it could assure valuable academic credentials. He believed that students should study for degrees (not the norm until the 1880s); a chemistry education should be useful for a career but should also train minds for original research, whether in academe and industry.
The laboratory was at the centre of Roscoe’s ideal. When Owens College opened at its Oxford Road site in 1872, it had the modern chemistry laboratories, based on German examples. Roscoe believed “(t)he spirit of research must be felt in the atmosphere of the laboratory”, and the department’s teaching inculcated the methods of research at an early stage.
Overall, Roscoe’s department was a success; graduate students became increasingly valued in industry, and many went on to study for masters degrees — chemistry dominated postgraduate study at Manchester before 1914.
Physics: Schuster and Rutherford
Physics emerged more slowly as an academic subject at Owens. Before the 1870s, physics was usually known as ‘natural philosophy’ and included subjects as diverse as mechanics, astronomy, optics and magnetism.
Both Frankland and Roscoe believed that a physics department was essential to Owens College. In 1860, Roscoe persuaded the College to appoint Robert Bellamy Clifton (1836–1921) to a chair in physics. A second chair followed in 1865, occupied by William Jack. They taught a mixture of experimental mechanics and mathematical physics.
In the 1870s, two new professors Balfour Stewart (1828–87) and Thomas Core (1836–1910) reframed the curriculum. Laboratory work was now emphasised to provide training in method and to encourage students’ inquisitive instincts as scientific investigators. However, the physics laboratories in the basement of the John Owens building were basic, and not comparable to Roscoe’s chemistry labs.
The campaign for new laboratories was led by Arthur Schuster (1851–1934), who had studied with Stewart and later became professor of physics. His educational philosophy was similar to Roscoe’s — the professor should take an active and inspiring role in the laboratory, students should be encouraged to undertake research and have the opportunity for postgraduate study.
Schuster raised considerable funds (including some from his own pocket) and the new Physical Laboratories opened in Coupland St. in 1902. The building was considered the most up-to-date in the country and was designed on Schuster’s conception of laboratory work — that it should be interdisciplinary and cooperative. It made provision for new subjects such as electrical engineering, electrochemistry, low temperature and radioactivity.
As with chemistry, the objective as to support research and at a more routine level to prepare graduates for industrial careers. Opportunities were increasing due to the growth of new industries which needed knowledge of electricity and magnetism.
Schuster’s belief in Manchester’s ability to undertake advanced research was confirmed when Schuster’s successor, Ernest Rutherford, was appointed in 1907; Rutherford had been persuaded to come to Manchester because of its laboratories. His work on atomic physics later earned him the Nobel Prize, and he created what was probably the world’s leading physics research team at Manchester.
Discussion Points
Why did science become so important to Owens College?
What factors contributed to the successful development of scientific disciplines at Owens College/University of Manchester in this period?
Additional Resources
D.A. Jones, The origins of civic universities: Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool (London 1988)
Robert Kargon, Science in Victorian Manchester: enterprise and expertise (Manchester 1977)
Henry Roscoe, Record of work done in the Chemical Department of the Owens College, 1857–1887 (London 1887)
Images reproduced with the permission of The John Rylands University Librarian and Director of the University of Manchester Library. All images used on this page are licenced via CC-BY-NC-SA, for further information about each image, please follow the link in the description.
