Google Doodle has commemorated Scottish Chemist Sir William Ramsay on his 167th birthday for his work on discovering several noble gases.
Sir Ramsay was known for changing the periodic table forever after discovering a number of noble gases, including neon and helium. Due to his groundbreaking discoveries, he was acclaimed as the “greatest chemical discoverer of his time.”
In 1902, he was acclaimed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). In 1904, he received the Noble Prize for Chemistry for his achievements and contributions to the periodic table of elements.
Born on October 2, 1852, in Glasgow, Sir Ramsay grew up in the city center and worked as an assistant to a ship-builder in Govan. Later, he studied chemistry at the University of Glasgow and graduated in 1869. He was trained under Scottish chemist Thomas Anderson. He went on to pursue his doctorate at the University of Tubingen, Germany.
He then returned to the United Kingdom and worked for a few colleges. He worked as a chemistry professor at University College, Bristol, in 1879.
In 1887, he became the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at University College, London. During his tenure, he worked on researching liquids and vapors. He also published a number of journals and books.
However, he started focusing on research after he noted that Lord Rayleigh, a British physicist, learned that nitrogen in the lab had lower atomic weight than nitrogen in the earth’s atmosphere. Sir Ramsay concluded that there must be some unknown gases present in the earth’s atmosphere.
In 1894, Sir Ramsey and Lord Rayleigh jointly announced the discovery of a chemically inert gas called argon. Later, he discovered other noble gases such as neon, helium, xenon, and krypton.
With his groundbreaking discovery of noble gases, the periodic table was re-scripted forever. In 1881, he married Margaret Buchanan and the couple had a daughter and a son. Sir Ramsay died in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, on July 23, 1916, after battling nasal cancer at the age of 63.
