author
H. R. (Henry Richardson) Procter
1848–1927
A pioneer of leather chemistry, he helped turn tanning from a traditional craft into a field grounded in careful scientific study. His work shaped teaching, research, and industry practice in Britain and beyond.
2 Audiobooks
A Text-book of Tanning A treatise on the conversion of skins into leather, both practical and theoretical.
by H. R. (Henry Richardson) Procter
The Principles of Leather Manufacture
by H. R. (Henry Richardson) Procter
About the author
Born on May 6, 1848, at Lowlights Tannery in North Shields, Henry Richardson Procter came from a long line of Quaker tanners. He studied science in York, London, and Germany, then brought that training back to the leather trade at a time when many industrial processes were still guided more by habit than by laboratory method.
Procter became one of the leading authorities on the chemistry of leather and tanning. In 1891 he was appointed the first professor of leather industries at Yorkshire College in Leeds, later the University of Leeds, where he built up teaching and research in the subject and remained until 1919. His book The Principles of Leather Manufacture became an important reference for the field.
He was widely recognized during his lifetime as a pioneer of a more scientific leather industry, and in 1923 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Procter died on August 17, 1927, leaving behind a reputation for connecting practical manufacturing knowledge with serious chemical research.