Silliman, Benjamin

▪ American chemist [1816-85]

born Dec. 4, 1816, New Haven, Conn., U.S.

died Jan. 14, 1885, New Haven

      American chemist whose report on the potential uses of crude-oil products gave impetus to plans for drilling the first producing oil well, near Titusville, Pa.

      The son of the noted geologist and chemist Benjamin Silliman (1779–1864), he assisted his father in setting up a chemical laboratory in 1842, out of which grew the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. He taught medical chemistry and toxicology at the University of Louisville, Ky., from 1849 to 1854. He then succeeded his father in the chair of chemistry at Yale.

      Silliman prepared numerous reports on mines and on technical manufacturing processes and conducted fundamental research on meteorites, photography, and gases. The “Silliman Report” (1855) set forth his analysis of crude oil and of the potentially valuable products that could be refined from it.

      Silliman's works include First Principles of Chemistry (1847) and First Principles of Physics (1858). From 1838 to 1845 he assisted his father in editing the American Journal of Science and was then its coeditor in chief.

▪ American geologist and chemist [1779-1864]

born Aug. 8, 1779, North Stratford, Conn., U.S.

died Nov. 24, 1864, New Haven, Conn.

      geologist and chemist who founded the American Journal of Science and wielded a powerful influence in the development of science in the United States.

      Silliman was appointed professor of chemistry and natural history at Yale, from which he had graduated in 1796. He was instrumental in expanding the college's educational resources through the acquisition of extensive mineralogical collections and the foundation of the Sheffield Scientific School, the Trumbull Gallery, and the medical school. Much in demand as a lecturer on science, Silliman was also a popular and well-known teacher.

      In 1818 he started the American Journal of Science and Arts (later shortened to American Journal of Science), for many years known simply as Silliman's Journal. An important outlet for American scientific papers, it became one of the world's greatest scientific journals. It still exists but is devoted to geology alone.

      Silliman retired in 1853 as professor emeritus. His works include A Journal of Travels in England, Holland and Scotland (1810) and Elements of Chemistry (1830). The mineral sillimanite was named in his honour.

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