Background
John Gassiot was born on April 2, 1797, in London, United Kingdom.
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John Gassiot
United Kingdom
John Peter Gassiot
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United Kingdom
John Peter Gassiot
Gallery of John Gassiot
United Kingdom
John Peter Gassiot
Gallery of John Gassiot
United Kingdom
John Peter Gassiot
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John Peter Gassiot
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John Peter Gassiot
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John Peter Gassiot
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John Peter Gassiot
Edit Profilebusinessman physicist scientist
Career
Gassiot joined in business with Spaniard Sebastian Gonzalez Martinez in 1822 to create the firm of Martinez Gassiot & Co, selling cigars, sherry and port.
In the late 1830’s Gassiot began his investigations in electricity. He created an amply-provided laboratory at his home on Clapham Common and opened it to his fellow scientists. He performed a number of experiments culminating in 1844 where he used a battery of 100 mutually insulated Grove cells to show that a spark could be drawn before an electrical contact was made. Gassiot extended Groves's work on striae in electrical discharges, showing that the discharge cannot continue in a vacuum.
In 1858, Gassiot, in his Bakerian lecture, reported deflections of electrical discharges in rarefied gases both by magnetism and electrostatics. Though this was an early observation of the phenomenon of cathode rays, Julius Plücker is usually credited with their discovery. Gassiot also helped to endow the Kew observatory and for many years was the chairman of the Royal Society’s Kew Observatory Committee.
Achievements
Views
At the time of Gassiot the identity of static and voltaic electricity seemed likely. But if this were so, voltaic, like static, electricity ought to produce sparks before the circuit was completed. In 1839 Gassiot showed that even with a battery of 1,024 Daniell cells no sparks occurred. But if he used these cells either to charge a bank of nine Leyden jars or in conjunction with a circuit interrupter and transformer, he could produce sparks before contact. He also obtained sparks with a Zamboni dry pile of 10,000 cells and, later, of 1,000 cells. But in 1843, using a massive battery of 3,520 zinc-copper rainwater cells, he produced sparks through 0.020 inch of air. Gassiot attributed his success to his great care in insulating the individual cells to prevent the loss of their electrical tension.
Membership
Gassiot was instrumental in founding of the London Electrical Society in 1837 and of the Chemical Society in 1845. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1841.
Connections
John married Elizabeth Scott in 1819 and the couple had nine sons and three daughters.
References
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Born
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Died
August 15, 1877 (aged 80) -
Resting place
West Norwood Cemetery, London, United Kingdom -
Nationality
British -
Ethnicity
Career
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1822 - 1877
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1837 - 1877