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JOHN MAYOW: CHEMIST AND PHYSICIAN, 



A.D. 1645-79. 



By J. J. BERINGER, F.C.S., F.I.C., Associate of the Eoyal School of Mines. 



The story of John Mayow is the sti^ange one of a Cornishman 

 honoured abroad and ignored at home ; for whilst there are few 

 histories of chemistry which do not record his achievements, 

 here in Cornwall he is almost unknown. The absence of his 

 name from the recognised list of Cornish Worthies may be due to 

 the fact that he is only a Cornishman by descent, for there can 

 be little doubt he was born in London; but in part at any rate 

 it is also due to an^ ignorance of his works by our leading 

 writers. In most histories of Cornwall he is mentioned, 

 (Polwhele^ even claims him as a relation) but the record they 

 give is blemished by a mistake* which affords abundant proof of 

 an ignorance of his writings. Indeed Mr. Davies Gilbert^ who 

 describes Mayow as " a very extraordinary man, worthy of being 

 ranked with the first chemists or philosophers of any age," 

 avowedly derives his opinion from. Dr. Beddoes, and Sir Humphry 

 Davy^, who was for some time an assistant to Dr. Beddoes, 

 probably derived his knowledge from the same source ; but he 

 writes of " Mayow of Oxford " in an ungenerous spirit, which is 

 perhaps not difi&cult to explain. 



Whilst however we have been somewhat remiss in claiming 

 that share in Mayow which justly belongs to our county, many 

 writers have been busy thrusting his greatness upon us. Brande,* 

 Hoefer,® and sundry writers in Universal Biographies and 

 Encyclopedias describe him as "born in Cornwall." This error 



1. Language, Literature, and Literary characters of Cornwall. — PolwJiele. 

 *Tlie title of Mayow's chief work is " De Sal Nitro et Spiritu Nitro Aereo." 



Our local historians with wonderful unanimity write it " Nitro Acerbo." 



2. The Parochial History of Cornwall. — Davies Gilbert. 



3. Elements of Chemical Philosophy. — Sir H. Davy. 



4. A Manual of Chemistry.— PF. T. Brande, F.B.S. 



5. Histoire de la Chimie — F. Hoefer, Tome II. 



