OS Pioneer Chemical Educator Gorman

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AMBIX, Vol. 30, Part 2, July 1983

SIR WILLIAM B. O'SHAUGHNESSY, PIONEER CHEMICAL

EDUCATOR IN INDIA

By MEL GORMAN *

THE diffusion of Western science and technology into colonial areas has attracted the

attention of various scholars'! Less interest has been given to the dissemination of science

education. There were many scientists who laboured on the frontiers in the colonies and

whose technical achievements are more or less remembered, only to have their contributions

to science teaching almost completely forgotten. This paper will deal with a case study

involving the transfer of chemical education from Britain to India in the first half of the

nineteen th century.

William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, member of an ancient clan,2 was born in Limerick in

1809. Only fragmentary information is available concerning his youth, but his last

residence in Ireland was in Ennis, County Clare, for he gave this location as his home when

he matriculated at the University of Edinburgh for the 1827-28 term.3 He received his

M.D. on 13 July 1829,3 but registered again for the 1829-30 session.4

It would be helpful to know of O'Shaughnessy's chemistry teachers so that the origins of

his chemical philosophy could be traced. However, the University of Edinburgh records

reveal that he was not enrolled in the classes of any of the chemistry professors. Other

means of obtaining knowledge of chemistry were available. It is possible that he learned

from one or more of the extra-mural lecturers,5 or perhaps as an assistant to Professor

Robert Christison (medical jurisprudence) or Professor J. C. Hope (chemistry). Indeed, hewas a clinical assistant to Professor William Alison (medicine).6 Such arrangements would

not appear in the University minute books. J. B. Morrell names four extramural teachers

of practical chemistry who taught while Hope was the official university lecturer, and while

O'Shaughnessy was at Edinburgh. 7 In any event, it is evident from his subsequent record

that he imbibed to the fullest all the fine attributes of the Scottish intellectual and scientific

environment. He was plainly in the quantitative tradition established by Joseph Black

and the atomistic approach of Thomas Thomson.

When O'Shaughnessy obtained his degree, interest in forensic medicine was in full bloom.

The first chair in Great Britain in this field was established at Edinburgh in 1806, and by the

1830S every medical school had lectures on the subject.8

Nevertheless, toxicology inBritish law was in a parlous state.9 It was a situation in which a young investigator could

easily make a name for himself. O'Shaughnessy became thoroughly involved, lecturing and

demonstrating forensic chemistry and medicine to a private class of nineteen candidates for

the medical degree at the University of Edinburgh as well as engaging in toxicological

research on a variety of adulterants.lO In the summer of1830 he moved to London where

he resumed his teaching and research in medico-legal jurisprudence. But he found that he

could not practise medicine in London because he was not a licentiate o t" the College of

Physicians.ll Also, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the chair of medical jurisprudence

at the University of London.l2 Consequently, in 1833 he joined the East India Company's

service as assistant surgeon and was sent to Calcutta.

* Department of Chemistry, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94117, U.S.A.

A short version of this paper was read at the XVI International Congress of the History of Science,

Bucharest, Romania, Sept., 1981.


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110 MEL GORMAN

make-up of the colonial scientist-the ability to adapt native human and material resources

to the exigencies of the time, the place, and the purpose of any specific undertaking.

The introduction is addressed to the student, and is inspirational in tone. After placingchemistry in the general context of natural philosophy and describing it in broad outlines,

O'Shaughnessy points out the practicality of chemistry. First of all, it has a moral value.

He believes that if a youth has been taught to receive nothing as true but what is the result

of experiment, he will be in little danger of being led away by the insidious arts of sophistry,

or having his mind bewildered by fanaticism or superstition. Then there is the employ-

ment appeal. O'Shaughnessy. points out that for one reason or another portions of India

and surrounding lands are closed to Europeans. But a native does have access, and if he

were trained in chemistry he could evaluate drugs, dyestuffs, and ores. A young man with

even an elementary training in chemistry could spot the means of improving century old

processes in the production of saltpetre, opium, etc. He would thus not only provide him-self with a profitable occupation, but would be extending the technology and economics of

his country.

There were many Indian youths from affluent families who would not be influenced by

the above financial considerations. But O'Shaughnessy proclaimed that such young men

should study chemistry as part of a gentleman's education. He reminds the young Indian

reader that the audience of the lecture demonstrations at the Royal Institution of London

regularly consisted of well-educated people, such as jurists and clergy, and that it would be

well for such scientific information to be disseminated in India, and that it could be accom-

plished by systematic study.

About half of the introduction is devoted to convincing the medical student that chemi-stry is essential to the practice of medicine. By alluding to the chemistry of the natural

processes of respiration, digestion, etc., the author emphasized the fundamental role of

chemistry in life processes, in health or disease. The need for the medical practitioner to be

aware of the uses and purity of his pharmaceuticals is emphasized, and with chemical

knowledge he can rely on himself. Moreover, since murder by poisoning was practised so

extensively in India, there is a great need for the medical man to be adept at providing anti-

dotes, which of course he can learn about by studying chemistry.

The introduction ends with what is really a tribute to the Indian student, and at the

same time reveals O'Shaughnessy's high regard for him. "Difficulties will beset his pro-

gress, it is true, but to overcome them all, he requires only the qualities which the Indian

youth possesses in the most pre-eminent degree. He is quick of perception, patient in

reflection, adroit and delicate in experimental manipulation; and with these endowments,

his full success in this study may be most confidently foretold."

I t is axiomatic that scientists who laboured in a colonial environment did so among

obstacles of isolation and communication. Yet this text gives the decided impression of

being up-to-date. Recent articles from such important journals as the Edinburgh Journal

of Science, Philosophical Magazine, Lancet, A nnales de Chemie, and] ournal de Pharmacie

appear in appropriate chapters. l\10reover, the author seems conscious of his modernity for

he declaims that he has avoided any reference to obsolete notions or abandoned theories.

He makes considerable use of his own researches which were published in England and

Indian journals.28 This must have had an inspirational effect on his students. For

instance, one must consider that cholera was a fact of life for natives and Europeans alike.

O'Shaughnessy had conducted researches on the chemical analysis of blood of cholera


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hydroxide the description reads "Every bubble ... as it rises through the water inflames

with a vivid flash, and a wreath-like circular band of smoke is formed, which gradually

enlarges as it ascends, presenting an indescribably beautiful appearance".The context in which the M a1tltal of Che11tistrywas used consisted of a series of three

month terms with one hour classes meeting three times weekly. The first term beginning in

1836 had seventy-five students; the second had 180, the increase due to transfers from local

colleges. The lectures were accompanied by demonstrations. Testimony as to O'Shaugh-

nessy's skill and adaptiveness is to be found in the statements of Dr. I V 1 . J. Bramley, the

principal of the College. In a plea for funds for more apparatus, Bramley says, "the

Professor is himself compelled to devote a considerable portion of time to the actual manual

labour of glass-blowing ... the illustrations of each lecture necessitate the taking to pieces and

re-adjustment of the apparatus used the preceding day" .29 Frederick Corbyn, editor of the

India] ournal of Medical and Physical Science, a dedicated advocate of chemistry as a sourceof improvement of science and the arts, accepted O'Shaughnessy's invitation to attend his

lectures. This Corbyn did for two terms and left an account of his lecture notes.30 From

the partial list of demonstrations and exhibits of chemicals recorded, it is evident that

O'Shaughnessy was a firm believer in visual education. One of the class experiments

performed was the production of hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis of water and their

volume rates as determined with an eudiometer. Then the gases were combined to form

water. Various compounds were prepared for the class to observe, such as the oxides of

nitrogen and carbon. Nitrogen tri-iodide was synthesized and detonated. Metallic

potassium was placed on a piece of ice, and "it blazed brilliantly". However much import-

ance O'Shaughnessy attached to these demonstrations, he was convinced that passive

reading and watching were insufficient for the proper study of chemistry. Consequently,

on IJune 1836 a laboratory course was instituted.31 Because of the lack of facilities only

twenty of the best students could be accommodated. This limitation was a source of much

chagrin to O'Shaughnessy and Bramley, but they were greatly satisfied with the perform-

ances of the favouredfew. The latter noted that at the end of the laboratory course "the

class was thoroughly conversant with ... the manufacture of gases, estimation of the strength

of acids and alkalies, the analyses of saltpetre, alum ... and with the mode of preparation

of many of the most useful mineral remedies". l\!Ioreover,the students could not avoid the

dirty work, because "no servants were allowed ... the practical pupils themselves making

the fires, cleaning the vessels employed, applying clay lutes, etc."32 The evaluation of the

Manual of Chemistry and the courses in which it was used can be done best by considering

the results of examinations. At the end of the second term in September of1836 a general

examination for prizes was held. There was a qualifying examination lasting five hours and

for the winners a final examination of six hours. This examination was under the sponsor-

ship of the government in the form of a gold and a silver medal and of Baboo Dwarkanath

Tagore, an Indian believer in the importance of Western science, who provided money for

cash prizes. The College gave certificates of merit to those below the top winners. The

preliminary examination was entirely descriptive, e.g., "Describe the properties of Carbonic

Acid, and give some account of its natural history and its connexion with the respiratory

functions of animals and plants". The final examination contained some description, but

there were more difficult questions involving explanation and proof; e.g., "Explain themeaning of the term isomeric, and give illustrations of the subject with diagrams;"

"describe the experimental proofs both analytical and synthetic of the composition of


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SIR WILLIAM B. O'SHAUGHNESSY 113

water". There were five outside -examiners from the Indian Medical Service, including

Corbyn. Dr. Bramley, the principal of the College, had an 86 page report printed33

andforwarded to the General Committee of Public Instruction. Included were the rules

under which the exalninations were conducted, the questions, the essay answers of five

winners, the names of examiners and the winners, and prefatory remarks by Bramley and

O'Shaughnessy. The former declared that the results were so satisfactory and creditable

to the students that he felt obliged to have them published. The latter had composed the

examination and said that the queries were the most difficult he could devise. In another

report discussing the examination Bramley remarked that the results "displayed the com-

plete success which had attended Dr. O'Shaughnessy's labours. I have no hesitation in

saying that no chemical class in the world could have surpassed, and few would have

equalled the brilliant replies of these youths" .34 Corbyn remarked on the examination as

follows: ((The effect of this course will be best shown by the result of the examination of the

professor's pupils ... their acquirements ... are, in numerous instances, not to be surpassed

by the students of any of the seminaries in Europe. Moreover, their application and

perseverance are not to be surpassed ... they have had the reward which their industry and

talents had so justly entitled them to expect". Corbyn continues his description by saying

that "Such an examination is highly creditable to the pupils and especially to their teacher:

indefatigable, eloquent, and devoted to the science, he is admirably adapted for the post he

fills". However, the ((pupil" was not enthralled with the course to the point of blindness,

for he concludes by pointing out that the professor has a few defects, such as sometimes being

too quick so that his experiments do not work.35

Another examination in September 1837 was given public notice.36 That the import-

ance and prestige of this event had risen markedly can be inferred from the formality

accompanying the distribution of prizes and certificates. A convocation was assembled in

the theatre of the College attended by the Deputy Governor, members of the Council of

India, and members of the General Committee of Public Instruction, and a number of

Europeans and Indians. The examiner was James Prinsep who reported on the examina-

tion that ((the extent and accuracy of the information on the single subject selected [arsenic]

to test the abilities of the pupils has far surpassed my expectation; and I do not think that

in Europe any class of chemical pupils would be found capable of passing a better examina-

tion". This high praise by Prinsep is especially significant for two reasons. Firstly, he was

an Orientalist, and resigned from the General Committee of Public Instruction when theAnglicists were victorious. Thus he could hardly be biased in favour of a mode of instruction

to which he objected at first. Secondly, he was an extremely talented chemist. Although

not university educated, he had some early instruction in analysis and from then on was

self-taught, and produced at least fifty publications, mostly in physics and chemistry.37 He

saw service in the East India Company's n1ints and for many years was secretary of the

Asiatic Society of Bengal. He and O'Shaughnessy were the two most knowledgeable chem-

ists in India during the first half of the nineteenth century. The accolade of Prinsep was

the most satisfying which O'Shaughnessy and his students could have hoped to attain.

Moreover, a lengthy quotation of Prinsep's report was enshrined in the history of Indian

education by being included in Charles Trevelyan's contemporary classic.38

Trevelyan addshis approval of the characteristics of the students: ((The pupils are animated by the

most lively professional zeal, and they evince a degree of quickness and intelligence in the

prosecution of their studies which has perhaps never been surpassed".


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114 MEL GORMAN

By 1838 the original students who had persevered had studied a broad field of chemistry,

pharmacy, and materia medica under O'Shaughnessy's tutelage. This year the examina-

tion is described as stricter and longer than those in England. It was a laboratory examina-tion consisting of identifying the contents of unlabelled bottles by qualitative analysis,

"putting the student's knowledge of the subjects to the severest possible test". Again the

examiners were pleased very well with the results.39

In 1840 O'Shaughnessy was appointed chemical examiner (analyst) to the government

while retaining his professorship. His duties were to analyse in the College laboratories any

sample of commercial or legal importance to various governmental agencies. The double

duty proved too arduous. He became ill and was forced to go on furlough on November

1841.40 He recuperated in England, was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in r843,41

visited Joseph Henry in America in June r843,42 and returned to India the next year. In

November r844 the government separated the positions of professor of chemistry and

chemical examiner; O'Shaughnessy resumed the latter and relinquished teaching.43 There-

after he devoted himself to many pursuits in science and technology. He is remembered

best for establishing the electric telegraph in India,44 for which he was knighted in r856.

He retired to England in r860, and died in Southsea, 8 January r889.

In retrospect, the impetus for the establishment of chemical education at a professional

level was provided by the government of India's decision in favour of Western learning

taught in English, coupled with a desire to improve the delivery of health services to native

Indians by instituting for them a medical school on the European model. It was fortunate

that a scientist of O'Shaughnessy's calibre was available for the professorship of chemistry.

His education in the subject was the best available, he had some teaching experience, and

his publications demonstrate his commitment to the research ideal. Of paramount import-

ance was his ability to reach the goal of successful teaching by adapting to the colonial

condition. Primarily this involved his understanding of the initial level of the intellectual

abilities of Indian youths, and his nurture of their minds along chemical lines to the high

attainments evidenced in the examination results. He had a high regard for his pupils and

his confidence in them was manifested by untiring and inspirational zeal on their behalf.

His knowledge of native resources for experimentation was another facet of his adaptability.

Both of these aspects are easily identifiable in his Manual of Chemistry. The high standards

of chemistry instruction introduced by O'Shaughnessy at the Medical College of Calcutta

were so firmly planted that they continued in unabated effect after his departure. His

teaching provided a model for emulation by Professors who followed him at Calcutta andother medical schools as well as in other types of institutions. Chemical education in India

never looked back and today enjoys a respected eminence.

REFERENCES

I. George, Basal1a, "The Spread of Western Science", Science, 156, (1967) 611. Basalla presents a

"model" of the introduction of modern sciences into non-European nations consisting of three

phases: (1) exploratory or pre-colonial, (2) colonial, and (3) independent or post-colonial. The

present paper deals with chemical education in the colonial period of India.

2. John O'Donovan, The Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, Dublin, 1844, 386-7; J.

Fahey, The Diocese of Kilmacduagh, Dublin, 1893, 154; P. J. Dalton, J. Galway A rchaelogical and

Hist. Soc., 6, (1909-10), 52-63; an essay review of Robert S. Rait, The Story of anlrish Property,

Oxford, 1908.


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23. H. H. Goodeve and W. B. O'Shaughnessy, Calcutta Medical and Physical Society Quarterly J ., 1

(1837), V-VII.

24. M. J. Bramley and W. B. O'Shaughnessy, First General Examination for Prizes and Certificates,

Calcutta, 1836, 3-6.

25. W. B. O'Shaughnessy, Manual of Chemistry, Arranged for Native, General and Medical Students,

and the Subordinate Medical Department of the Service, Calcutta, 1842 (2nd ed.); preface to the

first edition, III-VIII, preface to the second edition, IX.

26. Mel Gorman, J. Chemical Ed., 46 (1969), 99-13.

27. The first edition of the Manual of Chemistry was published in 1837. One thousand copies were

printed, and the government bought most of them, primarily for use in the Calcutta Medical

College. See Board's Collections, vol. 1892, p. 5, "Extract of India Public Consultations, 21 June

1837", in India Office Records, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London. I have been unable

to locate a copy; the discussion in this article is based on the second edition (1842).

28. A practical list of O'Shaughnessy's publications appears in the Catalogue of Scientific Papers,

1800-1863, Royal Society of London, IV, 77.

29. M. J. Bramley, quoted in n. 22, p. 61.30. F. Corbyn, India Journal of Medical and Physical Science, 1(1836), 570-74.

31. W. B. O'Shaughnessy, op. cit., n. 24, 5-6.

32. M. J. Bramley, quoted in n. 22, p. 60.

33. M. J. Bramley and W. B. O'Shaughnessy, First General Examination for Prizes and Certificates,

Calcutta, 1836.

34. M. J. Bramley, quoted in n. 22, p. 62.

35. F. Corbyn, op. cit., n. 30, p. 572.

36. Calcutta Monthly Journal, 3, July-December 1937, 826-27.

37. Catalogue of Scientific Papers, 1800-1863, Royal Society of London, V, 23-4; Dictionary of National

Biography, Oxford, XVI, 395-96.

38. Charles E. Trevelyan, op. cit., n. 17, 30-3.

39. The Medical College of Bengal, Calcutta, 1839, 1-21.

40. Letters from India and Bengal, vol. 33, paragraph 43, India Office Records, Foreign and Common-

wealth Office, London.

41. Record of the Royal Society, Edinburgh, 1940, 469.

42. I am indebted to Dr. Nathan Reingold, editor of the Joseph Henry papers, for this information.

43. India and Bengal Despatches, vol. 48, 1846, p. 555, India Office Records, Foreign and Common-

wealth Office, London.

44. Gorman, "Sir William O'Shaughnessy, Lord Dalhousie, and the Establishment of the Telegraph

System in India", Technology and Culture, 12 (1971), 581.

EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Dr. W. H. Brock, after more than a decade of service, has this year retired from the

honorary editorship ofAntbix. On behalf of all members of the Society, and readers of the

Journal everywhere, I thank him for his invaluable contribution to this periodical, and to

the scholarly study of the history of chemistry at large.

Dr. W. A. Smeaton will continue to serve as reviews editor ofAn'tbix, and to him also,

thanks are due from us alL Finally I must register a personal debt of gratitude to both

Dr. Brock and Dr. Smeaton for the advice and help they have given to me as incoming

editor. Without them I would ?ave been lost: nevertheless, the responsibility for any

errors that may have escaped their vigilance is entirely my own.

MICHAEL A. SUTTON
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