Watson Smith

Born in Stroud on June 16, 1845, Watson Smith was a British industrial chemist who trained under Sir Henry Roscoe at Owens College, Manchester, and continued his studies in Heidelberg and Zurich. After time in industry, he returned to academia and became a lecturer in technological chemistry at Owens College and the Victoria University, Manchester.

His work sat at the meeting point of chemistry and manufacturing. Smith was involved in applied industrial science, belonged to the Iron and Steel Institute, and helped shape early chemical publishing as the first editor of the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry in 1882.

Readers may know him best for The Chemistry of Hat Manufacturing, published in 1906 from lectures he had originally delivered to the Hat Manufacturers' Association in the late 1880s. The book shows his gift for turning specialized chemical knowledge into practical guidance for makers and manufacturers. Smith died on May 1, 1920.