Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair GCBThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, PC,
FRSThe Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence...
(1 May 1818 – 29 May 1898) was a Scottish scientist and
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
politician.
Background and education
Playfair was born at
ChunarChunar, located in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh state, India, is an ancient town. The railway tracks passing through Chunar leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, Tatanagar and Varanasi. National Highway number 7 also passes through Chunar...
,
BengalBengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent...
, the son of George Playfair, Inspector General of Hospitals in that region, and Janet, daughter of John Ross. He was educated at the
University of St AndrewsThe University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between 1410 and 1413...
, the Andersonian Institute in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and the
University of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh founded in 1582, is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. It is the sixth university to be established in the British Isles, making it one of the ancient universities of the United Kingdom.The university is amongst the...
. After going to Calcutta at the end of 1837, he became private laboratory assistant to
Thomas GrahamThomas Graham FRS was a nineteenth-century Scottish chemist who is best-remembered today for his pioneering work in dialysis and the diffusion of gases.- Life and work :...
at University College, London, and in 1839 went to work under Justus Liebig at the
University of GiessenThe University of Gießen is officially called Justus Liebig-Universität Gießen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.The University of Gießen was founded in 1607 as a Lutheran university in the...
.
Career until 1869
After returning to
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
, Playfair became manager of a calico works in Primrose, near
ClitheroeClitheroe is a town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It lies on the southern edge of the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area. The most notable building in the town is a Norman keep, suggested to be one of the smallest in the...
, and in 1843 was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the
Royal Manchester InstitutionThe Royal Manchester Institution was an English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a city lacking in culture and taste.The Institution was housed in a...
, where he was assisted by
Robert Angus SmithRobert Angus Smith was a Scottish chemist, who investigated numerous environmental issues. He is famous for his research on air pollution in 1852, in the course of which he discovered what came to be known as acid rain...
. Two years later, he was made chemist to the
Geological SurveyThe term geological survey can be used to describe both the conduct of a survey for geological purposes and an institution holding geological information....
, and subsequently became Professor in the new School of Mines. In 1848, he was elected to the Royal Society, and three years later was made Special Commissioner and a member of the executive committee of the Great Exhibition.
Appointed a
Companion of the Order of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
that same year, Playfair also became
Gentleman UsherGentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.-Historical:...
to Prince Albert, and in 1853 was appointed Secretary of the Department of Science, in which capacity he advocated the use of poison gas against the Russians in the
Crimean WarThe Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire on one side and an alliance of the British Empire, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the other. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. In 1855, he was a commissioner of the Exposition Universelle, and two years later became President of the
Chemical SocietyThe Chemical Society was formed in 1841 as a result of increased interest in scientific matters....
, finally returning to Edinburgh University in 1858 as Professor of Chemistry there.
Political career
In 1868, Playfair was elected
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for the
Universities of Edinburgh and St AndrewsEdinburgh and St Andrews Universities was a university constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1918. It was merged with the Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities constituency to form the Combined Scottish Universities...
, being sworn of the Privy Council and made
Postmaster GeneralThe Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
in Gladstone's government in 1873. The Liberals lost power in early 1874 but on their return to office in 1880, Playfair was appointed
Chairman of Ways and MeansIn the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The current Chairman is the Right Honourable Sir Alan Haselhurst MP.-History and functions:...
and Deputy
Speaker of the House of CommonsIn the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. The present Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin.The Speaker...
, holding these posts until 1883, when he was created a
Knight Commander of the Order of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. He was subsequently President of the British Association in 1885. In February 1886 he returned to the government as Vice-President of the Committee on Education under Gladstone, a post he held until the government fell in July of the same year. He was made a member of the Council of the
Duchy of CornwallThe duchy of Cornwall is, with the duchy of Lancaster, one of the two royal duchies in the United Kingdom. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne...
in 1889.
Having represented
Leeds SouthLeeds South was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election...
since 1885, Playfair left the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
in 1892 and was ennobled as
Baron Playfair, of
St AndrewsSt Andrews is a town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. St Andrews has a population of 16,596 making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
in the County of
FifeFife is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. It was originally one of the Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland.It is a...
. He served as a Lord in Waiting (government whip in the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
) under Gladstone and then
Lord RoseberyArchibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister, also known as Archibald Primrose and Lord Dalmeny .-Early life:...
between 1892 and 1895. He was further honoured when he was made a
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1895 and awarded the Harben Gold Medal from the
Royal Institute of Public HealthRoyal Institute of Public Health is a British awarding body recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.- History :In October 2008 the RIPH merged with the RSH to form the new Royal Society for Public Health...
in 1897. Playfair is also remembered for promoting a new cipher system invented by
Charles WheatstoneSir Charles Wheatstone FRS , was a British scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope , and the Playfair cipher...
, now known as the
Playfair cipherThe Playfair cipher or Playfair square is a manual symmetric encryption technique and was the first literal digraph substitution cipher. The scheme was invented in 1854 by Charles Wheatstone, but bears the name of Lord Playfair who promoted the use of the cipher.The technique encrypts pairs of...
.
Family
Lord Playfair married firstly Margaret Eliza, daughter of James Oakes, in 1846. After her death in August 1855 he married secondly Jean Ann, daughter of Crawley Millington, in 1857. There were children from both marriages. Jean Ann died in 1877. Lord Playfair died at his home in
South KensingtonSouth Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, in May 1898, aged 80, and was buried in St Andrews. He was succeeded in the barony by his son from his first marriage, George.