chemistry

James Irvine (chemist)

James Irvine (chemist) is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand James Irvine (chemist) rather than just read about it. In short: Sir James Colquhoun Irvine KBE FRS FRSE FEIS (9 May 1877 – 12 June 1952) was a British organic chemist and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1921 until his death. As a research chemist, Irvine worked on the application of methylation techniques to carbohydrates, and isolated the first methylated sugars, trimethyl and tetramethyl glucose.

Key takeaways

James Irvine (chemist) belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect James Irvine (chemist) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of James Irvine (chemist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir James Colquhoun Irvine KBE FRS FRSE FEIS (9 May 1877 – 12 June 1952) was a British organic chemist and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1921 until his death. As a research chemist, Irvine worked on the application of methylation techniques to carbohydrates, and isolated the first methylated sugars, trimethyl and tetramethyl glucose.

Life Irvine was born in Glasgow to factory owner John Irvine (a manufacturer of light-castings) and Mary Paton Colquhoun. He was educated at Allan Glen's School. He then studied at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, before taking a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of St Andrews. From there, he went to the University of Leipzig, where he studied for a PhD under Ostwald and Wislicenus. Returning to St Andrews, he was awarded a Doctor of Science degree, and taught Chemistry there. He was appointed Professor of Chemistry in 1909 and Dean of Science in 1912. In 1921, he was appointed Principal. His tenure saw the renovation and restoration of both buildings and traditions, and his works are still talked of today. His commitments spanned further than the University, into higher education in Britain and the colonies. He also served as acting Principal of University College Dundee. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1917. His proposers were Sir James Walker, John Edwin Mackenzie, Cargill Gilston Knott, and Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson. He was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of London in 1918 also being awarded its Davy Medal. He served as Vice-President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1922 to 1925. He was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1933. He won the society's Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize for 1936–1940. Irvine was also Willard Gibbs Medallist of the American Chemical Society, Elliot Cressan Medallist of the Franklin Institute, Longstaff Medallist of the Chemical Society of London.

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1920 and knighted in 1925 and was awarded the Freedom of St Andrews. He received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Aberdeen, Cambridge, Columbia, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, McGill, Oxford, Princeton, Toronto, Wales and Yale. He died at home in St Andrews on 12 June 1952 and was buried in the eastern cemetery close to the main lower entrance gate.

Publications Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry (1953)

Family

Irvine married Mabel Violet Williams in 1905.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Irvine (chemist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Irvine (chemist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to James Irvine (chemist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about James Irvine (chemist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of James Irvine (chemist)

In research: James Irvine (chemist) appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses James Irvine (chemist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: James Irvine (chemist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1877 births, 1952 deaths, Academics from Glasgow, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Irvine (chemist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study James Irvine (chemist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what James Irvine (chemist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain James Irvine (chemist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is James Irvine (chemist) in simple terms?

Why does James Irvine (chemist) matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study James Irvine (chemist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on James Irvine (chemist).