author
George F. (George Frederick) Barker
1835–1910
A 19th-century American scientist and teacher, he helped bring chemistry and physics to a wider public through university work, public lectures, and accessible textbooks.
1 Audiobook
Half Hours With Modern Scientists: Lectures and Essays
by Thomas Henry Huxley, George F. (George Frederick) Barker, E. D. (Edward Drinker) Cope, James Hutchison Stirling, John Tyndall
About the author
Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1835, George Frederick Barker was an American physician and scientist who studied at Yale’s Sheffield Scientific School. Early in his career he worked in chemistry at Harvard Medical School, then taught at Wheaton College, Albany Medical College, Western University of Pennsylvania, and Yale before becoming professor of physics at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1870s.
Barker was known for moving comfortably between chemistry, physics, and medicine at a time when those fields were rapidly changing. He also took part in major scientific events of his era, including work connected with international electrical exhibitions, and he served as president of the American Chemical Society.
Alongside his teaching and research, he wrote textbooks that helped introduce students to science in a clear, practical way. He died in Philadelphia in 1910, remembered as a respected educator and a visible figure in American science during the late 19th century.