July, 1979 OBITUARY 217 Correspondence Correspondence is accepted on all matters of interest to analytical chemists. Letters should be addressed to the Editor, Proceedings of the Analytical Division, The Chemical Society, Burlington House, London, W1 V OBN. Definition and Priorities of Chairs in Analytical Chemistry Sir, The recent article1 on R. M. Caven raises the questions of the definition and the priorities of Chairs of Analytical Chemistry in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and in Ireland as a whole.Various definitions can be given for the term “Professor”; the most authoritative is probably that in the NED,2 the appropriate portion being I1 4: “A public teacher or instructor of the highest rank in a specific faculty or branch of learning; spec.one who holds an endowed or established chair in a university or one of its colleges. Also fre- quently applied to the tutors or lecturers on the staff of theological and other professional or technical colleges, academies and seminaries. ” Caven’s3 title derives from the University of Glasgow, for from 1912 the college founded under thc will of John Anderson was known as the Royal Technical College Glasgow, and was affiliated with the University of Glasgow in 1913.Further, it was recognised by the U.G.C. and placed on the list of university institutions receiving a grant from the Treasury in 1919.4 Other colleges running degree courses for uni- versities have also had heads of department with university-granted titles of Professor, e.g., West of Scotland Agriculture College, Belfast College of Technology ; notable exceptions were the London colleges which ran London internal degree courses via the “Recognised Teacher” scheme.Academies are also allowed “Chairs” under the NED definition.2 Possibly the most famous example of such a body is the Royal Institution of Great Britain,5 of which Professor Sir George Porter is the present Fullerian Professor of Chemistry.6 Porter and his predecessors Davy, Faraday, Tyndal, Dewar and Bragg are cert- ainly of the highest rank or quality in their218 A D DISTINGUISBED SERVICE AWARD branches of learning.On these grounds, the chair of Analytical Chemistry of the Royal Dublin Society held by James Emerson Reynolds7-9 was the first in these islands. The title Professor can also be “assumed as a grandiose title by professional teachers and exponents of various popular arts and sciences.” Thus, the title should not be accepted or indeed used in Colleges not of University rank or affiliation unless it is clearly seen that those to whom the title is given are of the highest level of achievement and recognised, both at home and abroad, as such.References 1. Belcher, R., Proc. Analyt. Div. Chem. SOC., 1979, 16, 175. 2. Murray, J. A. H., Editor, “A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles,” Volume VII, Part 11, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1909, p. 1428. Professor Belcher replies as follows- I think the main difficulty arises from the very loose usage of the title “Professor” in the English language. In the USA the term is used for all university and college staff and even for school- teachers; when I was a child, I remember there were Professors of Fencing, Dancing, etc.Perhaps that is not surprising in a country which, until 1922, allowed anybody without qualifications, training or experience, to set up as a dentist. I was careful to state “the 20th century definition” and if this is kept in mind, I consider that Professor Burns’ argument is not tenable.The NED was published in 1909 and the author would have been using 19th century definitions. The most important argument advanced by Professor Burns is the existence of the Fullerian 3. 4. Cumming, W. M., J . Chem. SOG., 1934, 1469. University of Strathclyde in Springer, H. W., Craig, T., and Archer, E.A., Editors, “Common.u~ealth Universities Year Rook 1979,” Association of Commonwealth Universities, London, 1979. 5 . British Council, Editors, “Scientific and Learned Societies of Great Britain,” 61st Edition, G. Allen and Unwin, London, 1964. 6. “Who’s Who 1978,” A. and C. Black, London, 1978. 7. Thorburn Burns, D., Proc. Analyt. Div. Chem. Soc., 1977, 14, 171. 8. Thorburn Burns, D., and MacDaeid, D., Orbital, 1978 ( 2 ) , 14.9. Thorburn Burns, D., Lecture given at Euro- analysis 111, Dublin, 1978. D. Thorburn Burns Department of Chemistry, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, BT9 5AG, Northern Ireland Professorship a t the Royal Institution. But this was a 19th century installation and, in any case, involves direction of a research staff. The appointment, therefore, is more in keeping with a university post than that held by Reynolds. I am not clear whether Reynolds was simply given the title, or if the appointment was termed a “Chair.” If only the former, then I acknowledged his priority in my article, but even if it was the latter, it does not accord with the 20th century definition. I have great respect for Professor Burns’ scholarship and his ability to unearth unusual and odd historical information, but he has failed to convince me that the first Chair in the United Kingdom, associated with Analytical Chemistry was held by any other than R. M. Caven.