Sir William (de Wiveleslie) Abney - Biography, Publications, Organizations and honors, Quotes

Chemist and educationist, born in Derby, Derbyshire, C England, UK. Assistant secretary (1899) and adviser (1903) to the Board of Education, he was known for his research in photographic chemistry and colour photography, and did important pioneer work in photographing the solar spectrum.

Biography

Abney was born in Derby, England, to a clergyman father.

Abney was a pioneer of several technical aspects of photography. His endeavors in the chemistry of photography produced useful photographic products and also developments in astronomy. In 1874, Abney developed a dry photographic emulsion, which replaced "wet" emulsions. Abney also introduced new and useful types of photographic paper, including in 1882 a formula for gelatin silver chloride paper.

Abney conducted early research into the field of spectroscopy, developing a red-sensitive emulsion which was used for the infrared spectra of organic molecules.

Abney invented the "Abney Level", a combined clinometer and spirit level, used by surveyors to measure slopes and angles.

Publications

Chemistry for Engineers (1870) Instruction in Photography (1871)

Organizations and honors

Royal Photographic Society (president) 1892 to 1894 1896 1903 to 1905 Royal Astronomical Society (president) 1893 to 1895. Physical Society of London (president) 1895 to 1897 Royal Society (fellow) 1876 and Knighted 1900

Quotes

"[...] whatever little notions of art a person might have in his head would certainly be driven out of it, for the knowledge that he could take an almost unlimited number of pictures would lead him to expose a sheet on every possible occasion, and probably 99 percent of what he obtained would be thoroughly inartistic productions".