British physician, chemist and inventor (1805?1863)
Prof
David Boswell Reid
MD
FRSE
FRCPE (1805 ? 5 April 1863) was a British physician, chemist and inventor. Through reports on
public hygiene
and ventilation projects in public buildings, he made a reputation in the field of
sanitation
. He has been called the "grandfather of
air-conditioning
".
[1]
Early life
[
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]
Reid was born in Edinburgh in June 1805, the second son of
Peter Reid
(1777?1838) and his wife, Christian Arnot, eldest daughter of
Hugo Arnot
of Balcormo, and was the elder brother of
Hugo Reid
. When born the family appear to have lived with Peter Reid Sr., a vintner at Milne's Square (now known as Milne's Court) off the
Royal Mile
.
[2]
His father gained his doctorate as a physician c.1810 and in 1815 the family was living independently at 7 Roxburgh Place in Edinburgh's South Side.
[3]
David was educated at the High School
[4]
in Edinburgh then studied Medicine at
Edinburgh University
, obtained his medical diploma on 12 July 1830, and was admitted a fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians
, Edinburgh, on 2 August 1831.
[5]
In 1831 Reid began to give classes in practical chemistry. He was soon appointed assistant to
Thomas Charles Hope
, professor of chemistry at the university.
[5]
The same year he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
his sole proposer being Hope. He was living at this time at 37 Nicholson Street, described as "experimental rooms" for Edinburgh University.
[6]
In 1833, however, he had a disagreement with Hope. At this point he set up a laboratory of his own.
[7]
Reid hoped to have a chair in Practical Chemistry set up in his favour; but he came up against
Robert Christison
as Dean of the Medical Faculty who was opposed, disliking the effect on the existing chair, and regarding Reid's teaching as too mechanical. Reid complained in
The Scotsman
.
[8]
In 1835 at the
Dublin
meeting of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science
Reid talked on reform of education in chemistry, and was asked to give evidence to the committee under
Thomas Wyse
then looking into education in Ireland.
[9]
One of his chemistry students was
Macquorn Rankine
.
[10]
Reid continued to give private chemistry classes until he moved to London in 1847.
[5]
Reid the Ventilator
[
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]
Reid invited participants at the 1834 meeting of the British Association, in Edinburgh, to visit his laboratory; and among those who took up the offer were some members of parliament. Fortuitously there was a very destructive fire at the
Houses of Parliament
at
Westminster
later in 1834, and Reid was brought in as a consultant.
[11]
He did innovative work in the temporary accommodation on
forced ventilation
.
[12]
When the new building work started on the same site, he was in a strong position to carry out plans that were systematic as far as ventilation was concerned. He was remembered as "Dr. Reid the ventilator" in the twenty-first century in discussions of
energy efficiency
, by
Lord Wade of Chorlton
.
[13]
In January 1840 Reid was appointed by the committee for the
House of Lords
dealing with the construction of the replacement for the Houses of Parliament that had burned down six years earlier. The post was in the capacity of ventilation engineer, in effect; and with its creation there began a long series of quarrels between Reid and
Charles Barry
, the architect.
[15]
Reid's ventilation system was adopted reluctantly by Barry in this new
Palace of Westminster
. Reid was engaged for five years at Westminster on this work.
[5]
Reid made a reputation by his work in Westminster. He was commissioned for an
air quality
survey in 1837 by the
Leeds and Selby Railway
in their tunnel.
[16]
The steam vessels built for the
Niger expedition of 1841
were fitted with ventilation systems based on Reid's Westminster model.
[17]
Air was dried, filtered and passed over charcoal. The system proved a cumbersome failure.
[18]
A detailed account was published by
James Ormiston McWilliam
.
[19]
Reid's ventilation method was also applied more fully to
St. George's Hall, Liverpool
, the only building, he said, in which his system was completely carried out.
[5]
In this case the architect
Harvey Lonsdale Elmes
requested in 1841 that Reid should be involved in ventilation design.
[20]
In 1852 Reid was dismissed from his position at the Houses of Parliament.
[21]
His immediate replacement was
Alfred Meeson
, who had been assistant to Barry.
[22]
Leading Tory politicians including
Benjamin Disraeli
had had enough of his feud with Barry, and
Lord Derby
thought him a charlatan.
[23]
In an extended process of settlement, Reid received substantial compensation for his dismissal.
[24]
Royal Commission on public health
[
edit
]
In 1843 Reid sat on the 13-man
Royal Commission
to inquire into "the state of large towns and populous districts in England and Wales with reference to the causes of disease among the inhabitants, and into the best means of promoting and securing public health".
[25]
With the other medical men
James Ranald Martin
,
Richard Owen
and
Lyon Playfair
, he made up the dominant group on the committee.
[26]
He wrote the 1845
Report on the state of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and other towns
(HMSO). His visits had included areas of great poverty and squalor, such as
Sandgate
.
[27]
It had immediate effects. For example, his findings on
Sunderland
and
South Shields
led to the setting up in 1846 of the Sunderland Water Company.
[28]
His observation on
cholera
, that there were no privies in the mines, was mentioned in the celebrated paper
On the pathology and mode of communication of cholera
of
John Snow
in 1849.
[29]
In the USA
[
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]
In 1856 Reid moved to the United States.
[5]
His stature as an author on sanitation was recognised by the physician Elisha Harris writing in Reid's
Ventilation in American Dwellings
(1858).
[30]
Reid was brought as a professor of physiology and hygiene to the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
in 1859 by
Henry Barnard
, and then dismissed after a year.
[31]
He then became government medical inspector to the sanitary commission of the United States.
[5]
On the outbreak of the
American Civil War
new military hospitals were erected throughout the country, and Reid was about to leave Washington on a tour of inspection when he came down with a fatal illness. He died at Washington on 5 April 1863.
[5]
Reid's Theories
[
edit
]
Reid was regarded as an expert on ventilation, but his views differed from
Neil Arnott
, another leader in theories of air and fever. He also regarded the
susceptible individual
in a different way than
Southwood Smith
, with more weight placed on predisposition.
[32]
In a work on public hygiene by John Bell M.D. of
Philadelphia
for the New York Board of Councilmen, Reid's views on
carbonic acid gas
in old graveyards and "vitiated" air are quoted; and on "those subtle poisons called
miasms
" he is said to have reported that he "has detected their escape from graves more than twenty feet deep".
[33]
Reid took "moving air" to be important to health, and emphasised the health hazards of "defective ventilation".
[32]
Works
[
edit
]
He was author of:
- Rudiments of Chemistry: with illustrations of the chemical phenomena of daily life
(1836)
[34]
- Elements of Chemistry
(1837)
- Textbook for Students of Chemistry
(1839).
In 1844 he published
Illustrations of the Theory and Practice of Ventilation
.
[5]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sturrock, Neil; Lawson-Smith, Peter. Malcolm Dunkeld (ed.).
"The Grandfather of Air-Conditioning: The Work and Influence of David-Boswell Reid, Physician, Chemist, Engineer (1805?63)"
(PDF)
.
Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Construction History
.
3
: 2981?2998
. Retrieved
29 December
2011
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1805
- ^
Edinburgh Post Office Directory
- ^
Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783?2002
(PDF)
. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006.
ISBN
0-902-198-84-X
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
8 March
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Reid, David Boswell"
.
Dictionary of National Biography
. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885?1900.
- ^
Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1831
- ^
"Reid's Early Years in Edinburgh"
. The Victorian Web. 10 June 2009
. Retrieved
7 January
2012
.
- ^
"The life of Sir Robert Christison, bart"
. n.d
. Retrieved
29 December
2011
.
- ^
Kennedy, David (1942). "Dr. D. B. Reid and the Teaching of Chemistry".
Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review
.
31
(123). Irish Province of the Society of Jesus: 343?350.
JSTOR
30098070
.
- ^
Marsden, Ben. "Rankine, (William John) Macquorn".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/23133
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
a
b
Porter, Dale H. (1998).
The Life and Times of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney: Gentleman scientist and inventor, 1793?1875
. Associated University Presses, Inc. pp. 177?179.
ISBN
0-934223-50-5
.
- ^
Bruegmann, R. (1978). "Central Heating and Forced Ventilation: Origins and Effects on Architectural Design".
The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
.
37
(3). University of California Press, on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians: 143?160.
doi
:
10.2307/989206
.
JSTOR
989206
.
- ^
Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Science and Technology Committee (2005).
Energy Efficiency: 2nd Report of Session 2005?06
. The Stationery Office. p. 224.
ISBN
978-0-10-400724-2
.
- ^
"The Towers of Parliament"
. Parliament of the United Kingdom.
- ^
Barry, Alfred (n.d.).
"The life and works of Sir Charles Barry, R.A., F.R.S., &c. &c"
. Retrieved
29 December
2011
.
- ^
Russell, Colin A; Hudson, John (2011).
Early Railway Chemistry and Its Legacy
. Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 67.
ISBN
978-1-84973-326-7
.
- ^
Milne, Lynn. "McWilliam, James Ormiston".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/17747
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
Curtin, Philip D. (1973).
The image of Africa: British ideas and action, 1780?1850
. Vol. 2. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 350.
ISBN
978-0-299-83026-7
.
- ^
"William Loney RN ? Background"
. Peter Davis. Archived from
the original
on 6 January 2012
. Retrieved
7 January
2012
.
- ^
Sturrock, Neil; Lawsdon-Smith, Peter (10 June 2009).
"David Boswell Reid's Ventilation of St. George's Hall, Liverpool"
. The Victorian Web
. Retrieved
7 January
2012
.
- ^
"Speaker's Court Ventilation"
. Parliament of the United Kingdom
. Retrieved
7 January
2012
.
- ^
Barson, Susan. "Meeson, Alfred".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/18511
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
Gunn, John Alexander Wilson; Wiebe, Melvin George, eds. (1997).
Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1852?1856
. University of Toronto Press. p. 109 note 2.
ISBN
978-0-8020-4137-1
.
- ^
Sturrock, Neil; Lawson-Smith, Peter (17 June 2009).
"David Boswell Reid's Ventilation of the Houses of Parliament"
. The Victorian Web
. Retrieved
7 January
2012
.
- ^
"List of commissions and officials ? 1840?1849 (nos. 29?52) | Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 9 (pp. 28?41)"
. British-history.ac.uk. 22 June 2003
. Retrieved
29 December
2011
.
- ^
Gray, Benjamin Kirkman (1908)
Philanthropy and the State; or, social politics
, p. 53.
- ^
Tonge, Neil (1993).
Industrialisation and Society
. Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd. p. 268.
ISBN
0-17-435061-9
.
- ^
"Sunderland and South Shields Water Co"
. Tyne & Wear Archives Service. 2006
. Retrieved
7 January
2012
.
- ^
"Writings of John Snow at 36 Years of Age"
. UCLA Department of Epidemiology School of Public health
. Retrieved
7 January
2012
.
- ^
"Ventilation in American dwellings : with a series of diagrams, presenting examples in different classes of habitations"
. Retrieved
29 December
2011
.
- ^
Curti, Merle Eugene, and Carstensen, Vernon Rosco (1949)
The University of Wisconsin: a history
, Volume 1, p. 183.
- ^
a
b
Hamlin, Christopher (1998).
Public health and social justice in the age of Chadwick: Britain, 1800?1854
. Cambridge University Press. p. 227.
ISBN
978-0-521-58363-3
.
- ^
"Report on the Importance and Economy of Sanitary Measures to Cities"
. E. Jones & co., printers. n.d
. Retrieved
29 December
2011
.
- ^
Reid, David Boswell (2007) [1836].
Rudiments of chemistry: with illustrations of the chemical phenomena of ...
William and Robert Chambers.
External links
[
edit
]
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
"
Reid, David Boswell
".
Dictionary of National Biography
. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885?1900.
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