The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry

The quest to turn base metals into gold captured the imagination of some of the finest minds of the enlightenment, this exciting book looks at the experiments carried out in dark basements away from the eye's of the public and the church. Little did these pioneers realise they were setting the foundation for one of the most fundamental sciences. Matthew Moncrieff Pattison Muir (1848–1931) was a chemist and author. He taught chemistry at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and was head of the Caius Laboratory there. Although he published some research on bismuth compounds. He became better known as a writer than researcher though, through his numerous textbooks and history of chemistry treatises.