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William de Wiveleslie Abney

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Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney
KCBFRSFRSE
William de Wiveleslie Abney
Born24 July 1843
Derby, England
Died3 December 1920 (aged 77)
Folkestone,England
Known forPhotography
AwardsRumford Medal(1882)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
Chemistry
Photography

Sir William de Wiveleslie AbneyKCBFRSFRSE(24 July 1843 – 3 December 1920) was anEnglishastronomer,chemist,andphotographer.

Life and career

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Abney was born inDerby, England,the son of Rev. Edward Henry Abney (1811–1892), vicar ofSt Alkmund's Church, Derby,and his wife, Catharine Strutt. His father was owner of theFirs Estate.William was educated atRossall School,theRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich,and joined theRoyal Engineersin 1861, with which he served inIndiafor several years. Thereafter, and to further his knowledge in photography, he became a chemical assistant at theChatham School of Military Engineering.

Abney was a pioneer of several technical aspects ofphotography.His father had been an early photographic experimenter and friend ofRichard Keene,an early Derby photographer. Keene became a close friend of William and his brother Charles Edward Abney (1850–1914). Both Abney sons subsequently became founder members of the Derby Photographic Society in June 1884.[1]His endeavors in thechemistryof photography produced useful photographic products and also developments in astronomy. He wrote many books on photography that were considered standard texts at the time, although he was doubtful that his improvements would have a great impact on the subject.

Abney investigated the blackening of a negative to incidental light. In 1874, Abney developed a dry photographicemulsion,which replaced "wet" emulsions. He used this emulsion in anEgyptianexpedition to photograph the transit ofVenusacross the sun. In 1880, he introducedhydroquinone.Abney also introduced new and useful types of photographic paper, including in 1882 a formula for gelatinsilver chloridepaper. He was elected aFellow of the Royal Societyin 1876.

Abney conducted early research into the field ofspectroscopy,developing a red-sensitive emulsion which was used for theinfraredspectraoforganic molecules.He was also a pioneer in photographing theinfraredsolarspectrum(1887), as well as researchingsunlightin the medium of the atmosphere.

In 1893 he inheritedMeashan Hallfrom a rich aunt.

He became assistant secretary to the Board of Education in 1899 and advisor to that body in 1903.[2]In 1900 he was Director of the Science and Art Department. He sold his father's estate, most of which went for housing in theSt Luke's Parishof Derby, but retained 11 acres until 1913 when they were purchased by theCouncilto become the site ofRykneld Secondary Modern Schooland Rykneldrecreation ground.[3]

Abney invented the "Abney level",a combinedclinometerandspirit level,used bysurveyorsto measureslopesandangles.He was responsible for the "Abney mounting"of aconcave grating spectrographin which the photographic plate was fixed and the entry slit moved to accommodate different regions of thespectrum.

He died on 3 December 1920 inFolkestone,England.He is buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church in Folkestone.

Family

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He had married twice: firstly in 1864 to Agnes Matilda Smith (died 1888) with whom he had a son and two daughters, and secondly in 1890 to Mary Louisa Mead with whom he had a further daughter.[4]

Publications

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Organizations and honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Craven, Maxwell (1993). Keene's Derby. Breedon Books. pp. 13–14.ISBN1-873626-60-6.
  2. ^Chambers Biographical Dictionary,ISBN0-550-18022-2,page 5
  3. ^"Rykneld Recreational Ground".derby.gov.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2011.Retrieved13 January2022.
  4. ^"Abney, William de Wiveleslie".Who's Who:5. 1920.
  5. ^Royal Photographic Society.Progress medal.Web-page listing people, who have received this medal since 1878 ([1]Archived22 August 2012 at theWayback Machine): "Instituted in 1878, this medal is awarded in recognition of any invention, research, publication or other contribution which has resulted in an important advance in the scientific or technological development of photography or imaging in the widest sense. This award also carries with it an Honorary Fellowship of The Society. […] 1878 W de W Abney […]"
  6. ^"New Year Honours".The Times.No. 36027. London. 1 January 1900. p. 9.
  7. ^"No. 27154".The London Gazette.16 January 1900. p. 285.
  8. ^"Court Circular".The Times.No. 36079. London. 2 March 1900. p. 6.
  9. ^"University intelligence".The Times.No. 36783. London. 2 June 1902. p. 9.

Further reading

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