William Gregor

William Gregor (25 December 1761 – 11 June 1817) was the British clergyman and mineralogist who discovered the elemental metal titanium.

William Gregor
Born(1761-12-25)25 December 1761
Trewarthenick, Cornwall
Died11 June 1817(1817-06-11) (aged 55)
Creed, Cornwall, UK
NationalityBritish
Alma materBristol Grammar School then St John's College, Cambridge
Known forTitanium
Scientific career
FieldsMineralogy
InfluencesDiscovered Titanium

Early years

He was born at the Trewarthenick Estate in Cornwall, the son of Francis Gregor and Mary Copley[1] and the brother of Francis Gregor, MP for Cornwall.[2] He was educated at Bristol Grammar School, where he became interested in chemistry, then after two years with a private tutor entered St John's College, Cambridge, graduating BA in 1784 and MA in 1787.[3] He proceeded to the MA and was ordained in the Church of England. He became vicar of St Mary's Church Diptford[1][4] near Totnes, Devon. He married Charlotte Anne Gwatkin in 1790 and they had one daughter.

Discovery of titanium

After a brief interval at Bratton Clovelly, William and his family moved permanently to the rectory of Creed in Cornwall. Here, he began a remarkably accurate chemical analysis of Cornish minerals. In 1791, while studying ilmenite from the Manaccan valley, he isolated the calx of an unknown metal which he named manaccanite.[1] Later in 1791, Martin Heinrich Klaproth discovered what is now known as titanium in the mineral rutile. Believing this to be a new discovery, Klaproth named it titanium after the Titans of Greek Mythology, but eventually it was clarified that Gregor made the discovery first. Gregor was credited with the discovery, but the element kept the name chosen by Klaproth. Gregor later found titanium in corundum from Tibet, and in a tourmaline from a local tin mine. Titanium is now used for many things. Titanium is a transition metal with the atomic number of 22 and atomic mass 47.867.

Death and legacy

Gregor was an original member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall in 1814.[1] Never letting his scientific work interfere with his pastoral duties, he was also a distinguished landscape painter, etcher and musician. He died of tuberculosis on 11 June 1817 and was buried at nearby Cornelly church.[5]

References
  1. Boase, G. C.; McConnell, Anita (October 2005). "Gregor, William (1761–1817), mineralogist and Church of England clergyman". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  2. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry 1847. on Googlebooks, (Accessed 20 March 2008)
  3. "Gregor, William (GRGR780W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge. cf. The Times, Monday, 18 June 1787; pg. 3; Issue 776; col C
  4. Diptford on Genuki website and Devon Libraries Local History page on Diptford(no mention of Gregor)
  5. http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org Accessed May 19th 2019
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