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Henry Deacon (industrialist)
Encyclopedia
Henry Deacon was a chemist
and industrialist
who established a chemical
factory in Widnes
, Lancashire
, England.
Henry Deacon's father was also named Henry Deacon and his mother was Esther Deacon, his father's cousin. The family were members of the Sandemanian
church, one of whose members, Michael Faraday
, was a friend of the Deacon family. Faraday played an important part in the development of Henry junior's life and development. His education was at a Quaker
school in Tottenham
. He was apprenticed at the age of 14 to the London engineering firm of Galloway & Sons. When this company failed, he joined the business of Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company
in their factory at Patricroft
, Manchester
, on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal
. In the 1840s he moved to Pilkington Brothers
at St Helens
and became manager of their glass-polishing department. While he was there he invented an apparatus for the grinding and smoothing of glass. In 1851 he left to join John Hutchinson
, alkali
manufacturer, in Widnes.
In 1853 Deacon, with Edmond Leyland, filed his first patent
, which was for an improved manufacturing process for sulphuric acid. Later that year Deacon left Hutchinson and went into partnership with the younger of the Pilkington brothers, William, to establish their own alkali works in Widnes on land between the Sankey Canal
and St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway
. This partnership was dissolved in 1855. In a new partnership with his previous employer, Holbrook Gaskell
who provided the capital, the firm of Gaskell, Deacon and Co was founded. At that time all factories manufacturing alkali were doing so by the Leblanc process
. In 1838 Harrison Grey Dyar and John Henmming patented an ammonia-soda process
of making alkali. Deacon experimented with this process but had no success and Gaskell persuaded him to abandon this project.
Between 1854 and 1876 Deacon, alone or in collaboration with others, filed at least 29 patents, all relating to alkali manufacture. Deacon also presented a number of papers to learned societies, including the British Association for the Advancement of Science
in 1870, the Chemical Society
in 1870 and the Warrington Literary and Philosophical Society in 1874.
In 1867 Deacon took on a chemist, Ferdinand Hurter
, on a month's probation. In time Hurter was to become the chief chemist to the company. Deacon worked with him to discover an improved method of manufacturing chlorine
from hydrochloric acid
, a noxious by-product of the Leblanc process, and in 1870 discovered a better process, using copper chloride
as a catalyst
.
Henry Deacon also played a part in public life in Widnes. He was chairman of the Local Board and played a significant part in establishing the waterworks
at Pex Hill. He was chairman of the first school board
in the town.
Deacon married Emma Wade from Basford, Nottingham
in 1851 with whom he had two sons and a daughter. After Emma's death he married Caroline Rutt of Islington
, Middlesex
, in 1866. Deacon died in 1876 from typhoid fever
at his home in Widnes. He was survived by his widow, seven sons and four daughters. His estate
was in excess of £100,000.
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and industrialist
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
who established a chemical
Chemical substance
In chemistry, a chemical substance is a form of matter that has constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. It cannot be separated into components by physical separation methods, i.e. without breaking chemical bonds. They can be solids, liquids or gases.Chemical substances are...
factory in Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England.
Henry Deacon's father was also named Henry Deacon and his mother was Esther Deacon, his father's cousin. The family were members of the Sandemanian
Glasite
The Glasites or Glassites were a Christian sect founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas. Glas' faith, as part of the First Great Awakening, was spread by his son-in-law Robert Sandeman into England and America, where the members were called Sandemanians.Glas dissented from the Westminster...
church, one of whose members, Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
, was a friend of the Deacon family. Faraday played an important part in the development of Henry junior's life and development. His education was at a Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
school in Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
. He was apprenticed at the age of 14 to the London engineering firm of Galloway & Sons. When this company failed, he joined the business of Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company
Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company
Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company, originally called The Bridgewater Foundry, specialised in the production of heavy machine tools and locomotives. It was located in Patricroft, in Salford England, close to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the Bridgewater Canal and the Manchester Ship Canal...
in their factory at Patricroft
Patricroft
Patricroft is a district of Eccles, England, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.-History:Patricroft may derive its name from 'Pear-tree croft', or more likely, 'Patrick's Croft'. In 1836, James Nasmyth, in partnership with Holbrook Gaskell, built the Bridgewater Foundry in...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
. In the 1840s he moved to Pilkington Brothers
Pilkington
Pilkington Group Limited is a multinational glass manufacturing company headquartered in St Helens, United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of the Japan-based NSG Group...
at St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
and became manager of their glass-polishing department. While he was there he invented an apparatus for the grinding and smoothing of glass. In 1851 he left to join John Hutchinson
John Hutchinson (industrialist)
John Hutchinson was a chemist and industrialist who established the first chemical factory in Widnes, Lancashire, England. He moved from working in a chemical factory in St Helens and built his own chemical factory in 1847 in the Woodend area of Widnes near to Widnes Dock by the junction of the...
, alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
manufacturer, in Widnes.
In 1853 Deacon, with Edmond Leyland, filed his first patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
, which was for an improved manufacturing process for sulphuric acid. Later that year Deacon left Hutchinson and went into partnership with the younger of the Pilkington brothers, William, to establish their own alkali works in Widnes on land between the Sankey Canal
Sankey Canal
The Sankey Canal, which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and the St Helens Canal, is a canal in Cheshire, extending into Merseyside, in the northwest of England, connecting St Helens with the River Mersey...
and St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway
St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway
St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway, later known as St Helens Railway, was an early railway company in Lancashire, England, which opened in 1833. It ran originally from the town of St Helens to the area which would later develop into the town of Widnes. Branches were opened to Garston, Warrington...
. This partnership was dissolved in 1855. In a new partnership with his previous employer, Holbrook Gaskell
Holbrook Gaskell
Holbrook Gaskell was a British industrialist, and an art and plant collector.-Early life:Holbrook Gaskell was born in Wavertree, Liverpool. He was the eldest son of Roger Gaskell, a sailcloth manufacturer, from his marriage to his cousin Anne Hunter. He was baptised on the 11 April 1813 at...
who provided the capital, the firm of Gaskell, Deacon and Co was founded. At that time all factories manufacturing alkali were doing so by the Leblanc process
Leblanc process
The Leblanc process was the industrial process for the production of soda ash used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: Production of sodium sulfate from sodium chloride, followed by reaction of the sodium sulfate with coal and calcium...
. In 1838 Harrison Grey Dyar and John Henmming patented an ammonia-soda process
Solvay process
The Solvay process, also referred to as the ammonia-soda process, is the major industrial process for the production of soda ash . The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by Ernest Solvay during the 1860s...
of making alkali. Deacon experimented with this process but had no success and Gaskell persuaded him to abandon this project.
Between 1854 and 1876 Deacon, alone or in collaboration with others, filed at least 29 patents, all relating to alkali manufacture. Deacon also presented a number of papers to learned societies, including the British Association for the Advancement of Science
British Association for the Advancement of Science
frame|right|"The BA" logoThe British Association for the Advancement of Science or the British Science Association, formerly known as the BA, is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating interaction between...
in 1870, the Chemical Society
Chemical Society
The Chemical Society was formed in 1841 as a result of increased interest in scientific matters....
in 1870 and the Warrington Literary and Philosophical Society in 1874.
In 1867 Deacon took on a chemist, Ferdinand Hurter
Ferdinand Hurter
Ferdinand Hurter was a Swiss industrial chemist who settled in England. He also carried out research into photography.-Early life:...
, on a month's probation. In time Hurter was to become the chief chemist to the company. Deacon worked with him to discover an improved method of manufacturing chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
from hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
, a noxious by-product of the Leblanc process, and in 1870 discovered a better process, using copper chloride
Copper chloride
Copper forms two stable chlorides:*Copper chloride , CuCl, mineral name nantokite.*Copper chloride , CuCl2, mineral name eriochalcite....
as a catalyst
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
.
Henry Deacon also played a part in public life in Widnes. He was chairman of the Local Board and played a significant part in establishing the waterworks
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
at Pex Hill. He was chairman of the first school board
School board (England & Wales)
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
in the town.
Deacon married Emma Wade from Basford, Nottingham
Basford, Nottingham
Basford is a suburb in northern Nottingham. Basford parish was absorbed into Nottingham in 1877. It gave its name to the Basford Rural District which existed from 1894 to 1974....
in 1851 with whom he had two sons and a daughter. After Emma's death he married Caroline Rutt of Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, in 1866. Deacon died in 1876 from typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
at his home in Widnes. He was survived by his widow, seven sons and four daughters. His estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
was in excess of £100,000.