Sir Frederick Abel Papers

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: RSC ABEL
Held at	: Royal Society of Chemistry   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rsc.org ›
Full title	: Sir Frederick Abel Papers
Date(s)	: 1845-1902
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 4 box files.
Name of creator(s)	: Abel | Frederick Augustus | 1827-1902 | chemist
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Sir Frederick Augustus Abel (1827-1902) was an English chemist and became the 15th President of the Chemical Society (1875-1877) and the 2nd President of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (1880-1883). His area of expertise was in explosives and in 1889 invented Cordite with Sir James Dewar.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

The collection includes two of his diaries (1854 and 1875), letters of condolence on his death and many of his personal letters. Some of the letters pertain to his work in the explosives industry while many are correspondence between him and his social and professional contemporaries: Sir William Armstrong, Sir James Dewar, The Duke of Devonshire, Michael Faraday, Thomas Graham, Carl Haag, A W von Hofmann, William Odling and William Rockerfeller as well as the private secretaries acting on behalf of Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales (latterly King George V).

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English language.

System of arrangement:

Organised by date where possible.

Conditions governing access:

Open access by prior arrangement.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Items pre-1930 may not be scanned or copied.

Finding aids:

Library catalogue

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Donated to the RSC by the descendents of Sir F A Abel in January 2010.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
March 2011.