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CHARLES TENNANT. 



Born May 3, 1768. Died October 1, 1838. 



Charles Tennant, the founder of the celebrated chemical works at 

 St. Rollox, Glasgow, was born at Ochiltree, Ayrshire. His father, 

 John Tennant, was factor or steward to the Countess of Glencairn, 

 and also rented a farm on her estate, in the culture of which he dis- 

 played great practical and scientific ability. John Tennant married 

 twice ; after the death of his first wife, by whom he had two sons 

 and one daughter, he married, in the year 1757, Margaret McLure, 

 who, in the course of time, brought him a numerous family of six 

 sons and seven daughters. John Tennant's second wife possessed 

 very superior abilities, which she earnestly directed to the education 

 and advancement of her family, ultimately having the satisfaction 

 of seeing all her children turn out men of energy and success in life. 

 Charles Tennant, the subject of our memoir, was the fifth son ; he 

 received his early education at home, afterwards attending the 

 parish school of Ochiltree. When still very young, Charles left 

 home and went to Kilbarhan, with the intention of learning the 

 manufacture of silk. After remaining at this place a short time, 

 Tennant removed to Wellmeadow bleachfield, where he studied the 

 methods of bleaching at that time in use, and ultimately went to 

 Darnly (the place from which the unfortunate husband of Mary, 

 Queen of Scots, took his title), and established there an extensive 

 bleachfield, taking into partnership with him Mr. Cochrane of 

 Paisley. Mr. Tennant now devoted himself to the study of che- 

 mistry, feeling that the process of bleaching could only be effected 

 by true chemical agency, whatever might be the particular method 

 or operation, and that, therefore, the bleacher must in the first case 

 look to the chemist for the discovery of more potent agents to 

 effect his object. Before Mr. Tennant's time the operation of 

 bleaching was of a very tedious and expensive nature. The cloth 

 was steeped in alkaline lye, which was called * bucking.' The sub- 

 sequent process of bleaching was done by exposure on the grass, 

 called ' crofting;' these operations were repeated five or six times, 

 and extended over a period of eight or ten weeks. In the year 

 1787 an important change took place, in consequence of the dis- 

 covery, by Mr. Scheele, of Sweden, of chlorine, which was used as a 

 substitute for exposure to the atmosphere. The repeated experi- 

 ments of Berthollet added considerably to the facts already known, 

 while the practical effects of these discoveries were still more fully 

 shown by Mr. Watt, and Dr. Henry of Manchester. In 1798 Mr. 

 Tennant made his first great discovery, viz., a method of making 

 saturated chloride of lime, an article which was found to answer 

 perfectly all the purposes required by the bleacher. This invention, 



