John Alexander Reina Newlands (1837-1898) is remembered today by historians of chemistry for one thing, namely being one of those who independently discovered the periodic law; he called his version the “law of octaves.” This presentation examines other aspects of Newlands’s life and work. For example, Newlands was one of a group of volunteer soldiers who served under Garibaldi for the unification of Italy, and he had a volume of verse published at about the same time when the Chemical Society of London declined to publish a paper on the law of octaves. Analytical chemistry and the production of sugar were Newlands's principal occupations. The law of octaves was not his only foray into chemical classification and systems, or even his first: he wrote about classification in organic chemistry and systematic organic nomenclature as well.

J. A. R. Newlands: beyond the law of octaves

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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