Robert Angus Smith, F. R. S. , And 'Chemical Climatology'

Abstract

Recently A. Gibson and W. V. Farrar presented, in this journal, a biography of Robert Angus Smith, F. R. S. (1817—1884) that dealt chiefly with his contributions to ‘sanitary science’. Although they concluded that he played a useful role in this new field, they stated that he ‘was not a great scientist’. Moreover: ‘He started many hares and caught none; one cannot point to him as the author of any major discovery or innovation. His theories were often wrong and his quantitative results unreliable’.