Louis Siebold Lecture on Atomic Theory

Contents: Manuscript of a lecture "The atomic theory and the modern system of chemical notation", believed to have been delivered by Siebold in the 1870s, although there is no further information about the venue or occasion for this. The text (fos. 1-24] comprises a detailed if basic account of the laws of chemical combination, and the associated system of chemical notation, which Siebold explains "forms of the groundwork of chemical science". Fo. 26 is the text for a lecture on pharmaceutical education delivered at the "Memorial Hall" [not identified] on 26 September 1879, and is a brief address at the opening of a new academic term of the School of Pharmacy. Enclosed in the volume is a cutting of an obituary of Siebold from Chemist and Druggist 21 September 1901.

Louis Siebold was born at Eschwege, Hesse Cassel, Germany in 1838. At an early age, he was apprenticed to an apothecary, and then moved to Hamburg to practise. In 1860, he emigrated to Britain in 1860, where he initially worked as a retail chemist in London, before coming to live in Manchester. Siebold was for a time a private assistant to Henry Roscoe, professor of chemistry at Owens College, and in 1870 he was appointed lecturer in pharmacy at Owens.

Siebold owned at a retail chemist shop at 225 Oxford Road, where he conducted analyses and manufactured pharmaceuticals. This became the home of the Manchester School of Pharmacy, which was set up by the Manchester Chemists and Druggists Association [Manchester Pharmaceutical Association], and where Siebold taught aspiring pharmacists. In 1877 he sold this business, although he continued to teach at the School. Siebold later worked for a Manchester firm of manufacturers of dyewood extracts, before becoming public analyst for the County of Westmorland. He returned to Manchester as a consulting chemist. In 1874, Siebold was elected a Fellow of Chemical Society and was a founder of the Institute of Chemistry. Siebold was editor of the Yearbook in Pharmacy between 1874 and 1900. He died at Sale, Cheshire, in September 1901.

The manuscript is available for consultation by any accredited reader.

The manuscript was donated to the Library by Miss M. Siebold, Siebold's grand-daughter, in May 1985.

Photocopies and photographic copies of material in the manuscript can be supplied for private research and study purposes only, depending on the condition of the manuscript.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the manuscript. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, The John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH.

See also the Manchester Pharmaceutical Association archive MPA, with which Siebold was involved. The Library also has custody of the papers of Henry Roscoe ROS and ROS Add, who was Siebold's one-time employer.