Title

Lyon Playfair, Scottish chemist, politician and administrator, 1875. Artist: Carlo Pellegrini

Caption

Lyon Playfair, Scottish chemist, politician and administrator, 1875. Playfair (1819-18980 rose from being a chemist in the Geological Survey in 1845, to become Secretary for Science and Art in 1855 and president of the Chemical Society in 1857. He discovered the nitroprussides class of salts and took part in organising the Great Exhibition of 1851. He was Professor of Chemistry at Edinburgh University from 1858 to 1896. Playfair entered politics in 1868, in 1873 became Postmaster General and was Chairman of the Ways and Means committee and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1880-1883, when he was knighted. Cartoon from Vanity Fair, London, 20 February 1875.
Oxford Science Archive

Date

1875

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images

Reference

HRM19B64_039

Model release

No

License type

Rights managed

Available size

30,1Mb (1,4Mb) / 8,4in x 13,9in / 2533 x 4157 (300dpi)

Keywords

glasses people black male job man men hat politics suit country guy spectacles occupation clothes British color colour Scotland chemist dress location SCOTTISH century Britain profession top hat oval cartoon politician 19th century sideburns MP famous people nineteenth century Scots sideboards statesman Oxford Science Archive member of parliament Postmaster General Sir Lyon Playfair caricature lithograph portrait Playfair Sir Lyon The Right Hon Sir Lyon Playfair Carlo Pellegrini Ape Pellegrini Carlo lithograph caricature portrait