Charles Tennant

Charles Tennant ( May 3, 1768 in Laigh Corton, Alloway, Ayrshire, † October 1, 1838 in Glasgow ) was a Scottish chemist and industrialist.

Tennant introduced in 1798 represents the first bleaching powder Chlorkalkindustrie then developed in close connection with the soda industry, as it was possible in this way, the mass -product occurring, until then very troublesome hydrochloric acid -been advantageous to exploit.

Life and work

Tennant was the son of John Tennant (1725-1810) and his second wife Margaret McClure (1738-1784) was born as the ninth of sixteen children. After attending school, he was trained by his father as a weaver. Bleaching was at that time an important aspect of the craft and was carried out by primitive methods in so-called bleaching cloth. The towels were bleached after treatment with stale urine for several months in the sun.

Due to the high demand, he founded in 1788 his own cloth bleach in Darnley near Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, where he met his wife, Margaret, with whom he was married 43 years and had nine children.

Through experiments with chlorine and lime, he finally managed to develop a process for bleaching, for which he was awarded a patent in 1798. Further experiments led to the development of a bleaching powder, which he in 1799 for a patent.

The patents formed the basis for the establishment of a manufacturing facility north of Glasgow for bleaching powder and bathrooms. The production volume increased rapidly from 53 tonnes in the first year to 9200 tonnes within five years. A little later, a second plant was established in Hebburn, with the total output could be increased to about 20,000 tons per year. In the years 1830-1840 his company was considered the largest chemical plant in the world.