Forgotten scientist honoured for refinery

A “FORGOTTEN” Scottish scientist best known for his method of distilling paraffin from coal is being honoured by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

James Young patented the process of obtaining paraffin oil and in 1851, in Bathgate, West Lothian, he established his commercial oil works.

It was the world’s first oil refinery – nine years before the first oil well was drilled in America. It transformed the economy and the landscape of West Lothian, with 40,000 people employed at 120 refineries in the area.

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Young died in 1883, aged 71, at his home in Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde, but there is no existing statue in his memory.

The RSC has announced an award of a chemical landmark plaque, at the Bennie Museum in Bathgate. It will honour his achievements on the 200th anniversary of his birth, which was in Drygate, Glasgow.

RSC president Professor David Phillips said a statue in his name was long overdue.

In a speech prepared for the RSC’s “Science and the Scottish Parliament” event, he said: “The RSC today honours the work of James Young with the award of our landmark plaque.

“Now let us honour the man. Not only was James Young a great scientist, he was a great human being and his legacy continues today.

“He paid for statues in memory of his great friend David Livingstone and to his old mentor Thomas Graham – at Glasgow Cathedral and in George Square respectively. Surely it is time we pay for a statue in James Young’s honour to inspire the scientists of the future.”

In 1865, he formed Young’s Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company, near Bathgate, which sold oil and paraffin lamps around the world, earning him the nickname Paraffin Young.

He used his fortune to indulge in yachting and travelling, but he also funded philanthropic projects, financing explorer and anti-slavery campaigner Livingstone’s African journeys.

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