James Cutbush, an American Chemist, 1788-1823 — John Shaqi
James Cutbush, an American Chemist, 1788-1823Smith, Edgar Fahs
History
James Cutbush, an American Chemist, 1788-1823
Smith, Edgar Fahs
Chemists -- United States -- Biography; Cutbush, James, 1788-1823
In the year 1813, Cutbush placed before the public his "Philosophy of
Experimental Chemistry" in two volumes. It was dedicated to the
"Professors and Students of the University of Pennsylvania and to the
Trustees of St. John's College." One cannot fail to wonder why Cutbush
should have so honoured the University when there is no record
anywhere that he ever pursued studies under the aegis of the
University. Indeed, it will probably remain a query as to where he
was educated. He is often spoken of as "Doctor Cutbush" and in at
least two instances the title "M.D." is placed after his name, yet it
is a fact that in no place where he personally was responsible for the
printing of his name is there any title affixed to it. Every source of
information from which it was hoped to ascertain where Cutbush might
have obtained the Doctorate in the first decade of the 19th Century
failed to produce the fact. Libraries were searched and volumes that
ordinarily convey such information were studied without positive
result.
The little contribution on the "Philosophy of Chemistry" was favorably
known, for Silliman, in his reference to Gorham's Chemistry as the
first book upon this subject by a native American, credits Cutbush
with having written a similar work, but speaks of the effort of
Cutbush as more elementary and not as exhaustive as that of Gorham.
The introduction in the first volume of Cutbush's work will always be
interesting to American students of the science. For example, this
quotation:
"Several original works have, accordingly, appeared, and some
editions of European treatises have been published with
revisions, corrections and additions by our countrymen. The
Chemical and Economical Essays of Pennington, the edition of
Chaptal enlarged by the late James Woodhouse ... that of
Henry's Chemistry by Professor Silliman of Yale College, with
some others, evince not only the learning and talents of our
countrymen, but a growing taste for the encouragement of
learning and the acquisition of chemical knowledge. Besides
these, in the Transactions of our Societies and in the
journals, or periodical works, several valuable papers have
appeared. The genius of the medical students of the
University of Pennsylvania, in particular, has been shown in
a number of excellent inaugural dissertations, some of which
have added to the improvement of chemical science.
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