Person
Smith, Alfred Mica (Micaiah) (1844 - 1926)
- Born
- 21 September 1844
Perth, Scotland - Died
- 14 May 1926
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Chemist and Teacher
Summary
Alfred Smith migrated to Australia in 1873, having gained degrees in chemistry at universities in the United Kingdom. In 1876 he was appointed registrar and Head of the chemistry section at the Bendigo School of Mines. Five years later he joined the Ballarat School of Mines where he became Head of the Science Section in 1887. During the 40 years he spent at the School he standardized practical training in chemistry and metallurgy. Smith was interested in mine safety, particularly ventilation in mines, giving evidence at the Royal Commission on gold mining in 1889 and 1891 and publishing on the foul air in the Allendale mine. For nine years he was Vice-President of the Ballarat Field Club and Science Society; he was again Vice-President when the Society was revived in 1915 as the Ballarat Science and Field Naturalists Club. He was also President of Section B (Chemistry) of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science.
Details
Chronology
- 1867
- Education - BSc, University of London
- 1873
- Life event - Migrated to Australia
- 1876 - 1881
- Career position - Registrar and Head, chemistry section, Bendigo School of Mines
- 1881 - 1887
- Career position - Lecturer in chemistry, Ballarat School of Mines
- 1881 - 1922
- Career position - Superintendent of laboratories, Ballarat School of Mines
- 1882
- Education - BSc, Victoria University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- 1882 - 1890
- Career position - Vice-President, Ballarat Field Club and Science Society
- 1887 - 1893
- Career position - Head, Science Section, Ballarat School of Mines
- 1891 - ?
- Award - Fellow, Royal Colonial Institute
- 1902
- Career position - President, Section B (Chemistry), Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1915 - 1917
- Career position - Vice President, Ballarat Science and Field Naturalists Club
- 1922
- Life event - Retired from the Ballarat school of Mines
Related entries
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- Collins, David, Chemistry in 19th Australia - Select Bibliography, An exhibition of the Encyclopedia circa 2005 with assistance from Ailie Smith and Gavan McCarthy., eScholarship Research Centre (original publisher), Melbourne, 2009, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/ciab/ciab_ALL.html. Details
Book Sections
- Dowling, Austin, 'Smith, Alfred Mica (Micaiah) (1844-1926), chemist and teacher' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R - Z, Bede Nairn, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976), pp. 139-140. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/smith-alfred-mica-macaiah-4598. Details
Journal Articles
- Smith, Alfred Mica, 'Some Experiments in the Gold Bullion Assay', Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 15 (1879), 4-11. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21535419. Details
- 'Smith, Alfred Mica (1844-1926)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1464567. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Smith, Alfred Mica (Micaiah)', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P000153p.htm. Details
See also
- Kruss, Susan, 'A voice for nature: a history of the Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat', PhD thesis, Federation University Australia, 2024, 594 pp. Details
McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 19 May 2026
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