Prof. E. C. C. Baly C.B.E., F.R.S.

MORTON, R. A.

doi:10.1038/161120a0

Obituary
Published: 24 January 1948

Prof. E. C. C. Baly C.B.E., F.R.S.

R. A. MORTON

Nature volume 161, page 120 (1948)Cite this article

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Abstract

THE death on January 3 of Prof. E. C. C. Baly, emeritus professor of inorganic chemistry in the University of Liverpool, deprives the scientific world of a vivid and stimulating personality. He was born in 1871, his father, E. E. Baly, being an official of the Bank of England in London. He obtained his scientific training at University College, London, but instead of taking the conventional B.Sc. course he proceeded direct to the Institute of Chemistry qualification. Attracted always to research, particularly in its more romantic aspects, Baly must have found the atmosphere under Ramsay at University College very congenial. Like his chief, Baly loved an element of daring in his investigations, and generations of Liverpool students rejoiced to hear him tell the story of the discovery of the rare gases. This he did with obvious enjoyment and conscious artistry. It was at University College that he acquired his great skill as an experimenter. Indeed, his powers as a glass-blower became legendary. Even after he had suffered the loss of an eye as a result of an explosion in the laboratory, his skill was unimpaired.