Matthew Algernon Adams
Encyclopedia
Matthew Algernon Adams was a British medical doctor. He was the President of the Society of Public Analysts in 1889 and 1890, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry
.
, hearing chemistry lectures by William Odling
. After having been house-surgeon to the Public Dispensary
in Leeds
he settled, soon after 1860, as a medical practitioner in Maidstone
. He specialised in eye surgery
, in which he excelled and earned an almost international repute. Hard-working and well-read, he had wide scientific interests, with a predilection for chemistry. In 1874, while the Sale of Food and Drugs Bill was under parliamentary discussion, Adams worked for some time in the laboratory of James Alfred Wanklyn
, and was in the same year appointed Public Analyst for the county of Kent
. He held that position till 1911.
Adams was one of the medical men who, when the Food and Drugs Act compelled local authorities to appoint public analysts knowledgeable in chemistry. At that time delicate questions involving an accurate knowledge of the chemistry of food had not yet arisen, and there was fair reason why appointing authorities should entrust to the doctors, who to them were the apostles of all that was scientific, the duty of controlling the food supply. Adams showed the importance of chemistry on several examples. In 1884, he found that cooked apple-pulp contained a substance reacting with iodine like starch. This method enabled the distinction of apple in mixtures with other fruits and was used in examination of jams.
For a few year close to 1880 a controversy raged round the composition and analysis of milk.
James Alfred Wanklyn
had stated that milk, apart from a considerable variation in the fat percentage, was of remarkably constant composition, the amount of "solids-not-fat" ranging from 9.0 to 9.3%. While this statement had never met with acceptance by continental chemists, public analysts had adopted Wanklyn’s figures and methods of milk analysis. The Wanklyn's procedure for the separation of fatty and non-fatty constituents was rather crude and yielded vastly varying results, as demonstrated in a celebrated milk case, heard in Manchester in 1885. Adams proposed a rather simple alternative: by merely distributing a weighed quantity of milk over strips of blotting paper and thus subdividing the solids over a very large surface, the direct extraction of the fat from milk became easy and complete. It has become the standard method by which all other methods of fat-estimation in milk were judged and regulated. The observation in itself was a small one, but it has affected fifty thousand milk analyses made annually in Britain.
Adams married early in life, his wife being the daughter of the late Mr. John Prall, solicitor, of Rochester; she survives him, together with a son and three daughters. Adams was an avid traveller, and almost each year he and his wife would spend a lengthy vacation abroad.
Royal Institute of Chemistry
The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation.Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain, its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its aim was to ensure that consulting and analytical chemists were properly...
.
Biography
Adams was born in London and studied medicine at Guy's HospitalGuy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
, hearing chemistry lectures by William Odling
William Odling
William Odling, FRS was an English chemist who contributed to the development of the periodic table....
. After having been house-surgeon to the Public Dispensary
Dispensary
A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital or other organization that dispenses medications and medical supplies. In a traditional dispensary set-up a pharmacist dispenses medication as per prescription or order form....
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
he settled, soon after 1860, as a medical practitioner in Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
. He specialised in eye surgery
Eye surgery
Eye surgery, also known as orogolomistician surgery or ocular surgery, is surgery performed on the eye or its adnexa, typically by an ophthalmologist.-Preparation and precautions:...
, in which he excelled and earned an almost international repute. Hard-working and well-read, he had wide scientific interests, with a predilection for chemistry. In 1874, while the Sale of Food and Drugs Bill was under parliamentary discussion, Adams worked for some time in the laboratory of James Alfred Wanklyn
James Alfred Wanklyn
James Alfred Wanklyn was a nineteenth-century English chemist who is remember today chiefly for his "ammonia method" of determining water quality and for his fierce arguments with those, such as Edward Frankland, who opposed him over matters related to water analysis. Wanklyn was born in...
, and was in the same year appointed Public Analyst for the county of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He held that position till 1911.
Adams was one of the medical men who, when the Food and Drugs Act compelled local authorities to appoint public analysts knowledgeable in chemistry. At that time delicate questions involving an accurate knowledge of the chemistry of food had not yet arisen, and there was fair reason why appointing authorities should entrust to the doctors, who to them were the apostles of all that was scientific, the duty of controlling the food supply. Adams showed the importance of chemistry on several examples. In 1884, he found that cooked apple-pulp contained a substance reacting with iodine like starch. This method enabled the distinction of apple in mixtures with other fruits and was used in examination of jams.
For a few year close to 1880 a controversy raged round the composition and analysis of milk.
James Alfred Wanklyn
James Alfred Wanklyn
James Alfred Wanklyn was a nineteenth-century English chemist who is remember today chiefly for his "ammonia method" of determining water quality and for his fierce arguments with those, such as Edward Frankland, who opposed him over matters related to water analysis. Wanklyn was born in...
had stated that milk, apart from a considerable variation in the fat percentage, was of remarkably constant composition, the amount of "solids-not-fat" ranging from 9.0 to 9.3%. While this statement had never met with acceptance by continental chemists, public analysts had adopted Wanklyn’s figures and methods of milk analysis. The Wanklyn's procedure for the separation of fatty and non-fatty constituents was rather crude and yielded vastly varying results, as demonstrated in a celebrated milk case, heard in Manchester in 1885. Adams proposed a rather simple alternative: by merely distributing a weighed quantity of milk over strips of blotting paper and thus subdividing the solids over a very large surface, the direct extraction of the fat from milk became easy and complete. It has become the standard method by which all other methods of fat-estimation in milk were judged and regulated. The observation in itself was a small one, but it has affected fifty thousand milk analyses made annually in Britain.
Adams married early in life, his wife being the daughter of the late Mr. John Prall, solicitor, of Rochester; she survives him, together with a son and three daughters. Adams was an avid traveller, and almost each year he and his wife would spend a lengthy vacation abroad.