author
M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison) Muir
1848–1931
Best remembered for turning chemistry into lively, readable history, this Scottish-born scientist wrote books that helped generations of readers see how the subject evolved. He spent much of his career at Cambridge, where teaching and writing became his lasting legacy.
2 Audiobooks
The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry
by M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison) Muir
Heroes of Science: Chemists
by M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison) Muir
About the author
Born in Glasgow in 1848, M. M. Pattison Muir studied chemistry at the University of Glasgow and later at Tübingen. After early teaching work in Glasgow and Manchester, he built his academic career at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he taught chemistry, became a fellow, and led the Caius Laboratory.
Although he carried out some research, he became better known as a writer than as a laboratory discoverer. His textbooks, popular science books, and histories of chemistry aimed to explain not just facts and formulas, but how scientific ideas grew over time. That mix of science, storytelling, and clear explanation made his work especially approachable.
Muir married Florence Haslam in 1873 and had two sons. He retired from active teaching in 1908 and spent his later years in Epsom, continuing to write until his death in 1931.