John Lawrence Smith

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John Lawrence Smith (1818-83) was an American chemist, born in Louisville, Kentucky, and educated at the University of Virginia, the Medical College of South Carolina (M.D., 1840), in Germany under Liebig, and in Paris under Pelouze. In 1844 he began the practice of medicine at Charleston and established the Medical and Surgical Journal of South Carolina. During 1846-50 he investigated the mineral resources of Turkey, for the government of that country, and he discovered deposits of coal, chrome ore, and the famous emery deposits of Naxos. From 1852 to 1854 he was professor of chemistry in the University of Virginia. He was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1872) and of the American Chemical Society (1877). His collection of meteorites was the finest in the United States and on his death passed to Harvard. He published Mineralogy and Chemistry, Original Researches (1873; enlarged with biographical sketches, 1884). The J. Lawrence Smith Medal is named in his honor.

• This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.