Dr William Brownrigg, F. R. S.: Physician, Chemist And Country Gentleman

Dr William Brownrigg (1712-1800) of Ormathwaite Hall near Keswick in Cumberland, was the first scientist to undertake a systematic investigation of the poisonous gases in coal mines. As a result of his work he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1742 and awarded the Copley Medal in 1766. However, he never gained the reputation which seemed to be merited by the importance of his research, and contemporaries believed this to have been as a result of his refusal to leave his native Cumberland and live in London. Sir James Lowther of Whitehaven, his first patron, commented in 1750 that ‘if he was in London he would probably get into better business’, while his friend and biographer Joshua Dixon wrote of his having been ‘repeatedly solicited’ to move to the capital. Brownrigg himself commented that ‘my situation here, at so great a distance from the capital. . . lies me under great disadvantages in communicating them [i.e. his experiments] to the public’. New evidence concerning Brownrigg has recently become available, from which it is clear that his preference for Cumberland was determined both by his scientific interests and also by his many other concerns. As a result it is now possible to attempt some re-assessment of his career, which may help to explain why he did not receive the acclaim he was thought to have deserved.