William Mattieu Williams (1820–92)

Chemist, science educator, and writer. Apprenticed as a mathematical and optical instrument maker in Lambeth, 1837–41. Studied at London Mechanics’ Institution and Edinburgh University. Industrial chemist in Birmingham, Caergwrle in Wales, and Sheffield. Lectured on science in Edinburgh, Birmingham, and London. Involved in the founding of the Birkbeck School in 1848. Headmaster, Williams Secular School, Edinburgh, 1848–54.