James Irvine (chemist)

James Colquhoun Irvine ( born May 9, 1877 in Glasgow, † June 12, 1952 St Andrews ) was a Scottish chemist (organic chemistry).

James Irvine was the son of a factory owner ( Colquhoun is his mother's maiden name). He studied at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow and the University of St Andrews ( bachelor's degree in chemistry). After that he went to Leipzig, where he studied with Wilhelm Ostwald and John Wislicenus and in 1901 received his doctorate. He was Lecturer in 1904 and 1909 Professor of Chemistry in St Andrews. In 1911 he was Dean of Sciences and in 1921 principal. He was also Acting Principle of University College Dundee and active in matters of university education across the Commonwealth.

He dealt with methylation of hydrocarbons, used 1901 silver for methylation of sugar ( and developed in 1903 Purdie methylation with T. Purdie ) and isolated first methylated sugar compounds ( trimethyl- and tetramethyl- glucose). He extended the techniques from sugar with double ring systems and complex sugars.

In 1926 he received the Willard Gibbs Medal. He was KBE, Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He was thirteen honorary doctorates (including Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, Princeton, Yale, Glasgow, Toronto, Columbia).