Person
MacDonald, George William (1870 - 1922)
OBE
- Born
- 1870
Coleraine, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 7 August 1922
Bethlehem Hospital, Surrey, England - Occupation
- Chemical analyst
Summary
George MacDonald, OBE MSc, was a analytical research chemist who took a leading role working in the explosives industries in England before and during the First World War. After studying under Orme Masson at the University of Melbourne, he was awarded an 1851 Exhibition Science Research Scholarship in 1893, continuing studies at University College, London, and then remained in England for the rest of his life.
He contributed papers and discussions to the Society of Chemical Industry, 1904 - 1914, and contributed many abstracts on the literature of explosives to their Journal. He published "Historical Papers on Modern Explosives," in 1912, describing the discoverers of mercuric fulminate, guncotton, and nitroglycerine, and the investigations which followed their discovery.
Details
Chronology
- c. 1893
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
- 1893 - 1896
- Award - 1851 Exhibition Science Research Scholarship [Chemistry. - Interaction of nitric oxide and sodium ethylate. Whether argon is contained in animal or vegetable substances. Production of cyanides at the temperature of the electric arc. University of Melbourne and University College, London]
- 1895
- Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Melbourne [Granted in absentia]
- 1896 - 1901
- Career position - Analytical Chemist, Curtis's & Harvey, Ltd., explosives manufacturers, Fulwich, Dartford, Kent
- 1898
- Life event - Married Anne Callender, in Cheshire, England [Who supported his work, as his eyesight failed]
- 1901 - 1906
- Career position - Manager, Explosive Works, Dartford, Kent
- 1908 - 1921
- Career position - Head of Research Department, Curtis's & Harvey, Ltd., explosives manufacturers
- 1911
- Career position - Research Chemist, Explosives, Geddes House, Burch Road, Gravesend
- 1912
- Publication - Book: "Historical Papers on Modern Explosives"
- c. 1913 - c. 1920
- Career position - Member of Committee for the Development of R.D.B. Cordite
- 1914 - 1918
- Career position - During First World War, responsible for the erection and extension of several guncotton factories
- c. 1922
- Award - Office of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Related entries
Collaborator
Published resources
Books
- Macdonald, George W., Historical Papers on Modern Explosives (London: Whittaker and Co., 1912), 192 pp, http://openlibrary.org/books/OL7177788M. Details
- Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Record of the science research scholars of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, 1891 - 1960 (London: The Commissioners, 1961), 107 pp. Science Research Scholarship - Entry No.49. Details
Journal Articles
- MacDonald, G. W.; and Masson, David Orme, 'A Product of the Action of Nitric Oxide on Sodium Ethylate', Journal of the Chemical Society, London, 65 (1894), 944-949. Details
- MacDonald, George W., 'On the Interaction of Nitric Oxide and Sodium Amalgam in Presence of Alcohol', Report of the fifth meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, 5 (1894), 322-324, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15362518. Details
- Robertson, R., 'Obituary Notices : George William MacDonald', Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions, 121 (1922), 2913-2915, https://doi.org/10.1039/CT9222102898. Details
Newspaper Articles
- 'Death notices [George William MacDonald]', The Argus (1922), 13, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1838731. Details
Ken McInnes
Created: 28 October 2026