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Peter J.T. Morris took a chemistry degree at Oxford and then a D.Phil. on the development of synthetic rubber by the German combine IG Farben. After working in the History of Chemistry Research Group at the Open University with Colin Russell and at the Centre for the History of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania with Arnold Thackray, he oversaw the chemistry collections at the Science Museum in London for 24 years before retiring in 2015. He was given the Edelstein Award of the American Chemical Society in 2006 and the Wheeler Award by the Royal Society of Chemistry's Historical Group in 2013. Peter Reed gained a BSc degree at the University of London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Leicester. He was Head of Chemistry at the Grammar School, Henley on Thames, before spending twenty-three years working for the museums in Liverpool. He retired in 1998 as Head of the Development Office for National Museums and Galleries of Merseyside, and then undertook consultancy work for the Canadian company ARIUS-3D, the European Commission and EUCLID (Liverpool), and was project manager for the Carpet Museum in Kidderminster.
Arguably, Sir Henry Roscoe wrote the most entertaining chemists' autobiography ever published. Now, in this important and very readable biography, the authors peer behind the details of the autobiography to reveal hidden details of the life of this Victorian inorganic chemist, writer, educationist, Anglo-German enthusiast, politician, and catalyst of the later scientific industrialisation of Manchester. - William Brock, former Director of the Victorian Studies Centre at the University of Leicester More than a century after Henry Roscoe's death, we at last have the scholarly biography that this gifted, multi-faceted man deserves. Morris and Reed reveal a Roscoe whose achievements endured in textbooks and lectures, academic institution-building in Manchester and London, and the fruits of a relentless advocacy of technical education, as much as in his scientific research. The result is an insightful, deftly contextualized study, representing biographical writing at its very best. - Robert Fox, Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at the University of Oxford Sir Henry Roscoe was a chemist by training, but became the Liberal MP for South Manchester. The authors of this fascinating, readable, and well-researched book seek to rescue Roscoe from his undeserved obscurity. This is a must-read book for anyone connected with the University of Manchester or chemistry. - Dr Brian Iddon, organic chemist and former Labour MP for Bolton, South East Peter Morris and Peter Reed have done us all a great service. Thanks to their meticulous work, Henry Roscoe is now rescued from undeserved oblivion. At the start of the nineteenth century, John Dalton put Manchester on the chemical map, Roscoe then created the strong program of teaching, research and industrial engagement that came to characterize chemical instruction in Manchester. We are indebted to the authors for establishing in rich detail exactly how this was done. - Arnold Thackray, Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania
