Talk:Millicent Taylor

I was interested to see the Wiki Page for Clara Millicent Taylor appear recently. She was my Grand Aunt though I never met her, except possibly as a toddler. From my knowledge of her the Page appears accurate. But one thing intrigues me. There is no recollection in the family (including documents such as her will) of the forename Clara. She was always Millicent, or Dr Millicent Taylor; so far as we know, she had only the one forename.

I have been researching this for a few months and have come across one possible explanation, which needs further research to confirm, or otherwise. By extraordinary coincidence, there was another lady called Miss Clara Millicent Taylor, who was also a chemist, a graduate of New Zealand University who then carried out research work at Newnham College, Cambridge, was Senior Science Mistress for 8 years (1913-1921?) at St Paul's Girl's School, London, and Head Mistress for 5 years (1921-26?) of Northampton Girls School. She was appointed in 1926 Head Mistress of Redland High School, Bristol until her death in Jan 1940 (or could be late 1939; a memorial service was held on 27 Jan 1940).

When the Wiki Page appeared I assumed Millicent had an unused forename, Clara, and that she went to New Zealand where she carried out chemistry research. She had a brother in NZ so this was quite possible; she did travel extensively during her lifetime. But some of the dates of publications are unlikely. And on finding CM Taylor, I think this provides an explanation. References 10, 11, 13 and 15, all cited to Clara Millicent Taylor, I believe may be authored by CM Taylor, not M Taylor. Reference 11 on Ketones published in 1911 (and the patent that followed in 1913, Ref 10) report on work carried out in New Zealand. This is very unlikely for M Taylor; as the Page says (accurately) she was in 1911 Head of Science at Cheltenham Ladies College, at the same time studying and researching at Bristol University.

To add to the coincidences, my Grand Aunt Dr M Taylor probably knew Miss CM Taylor; she lived only a mile from Redland School in Clifton, Bristol all the time that CM Taylor was Head Mistress there.

I will keep researching. But it would be interesting to hear from the main author of the Wiki page.

@Nyilima: after 9 years the page has been recreated without a copyright problem. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 21:47, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

Thankyou this is very interesting and may explain the lack of academic papers for the name 'Millicent Taylor'. Do you know if she published any more? Or any information currently not in the article ( with published citation).

Thank you Kaybeesquared (talk) 23:12, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

Thank you for rewriting the Page on Dr Millicent Taylor and for rectifying the conflation of her details with those of Clara Millicent Taylor.  CMT deserves her own WikiPage as an important Woman in Chemistry and as an educator.  In the process of researching MT, I have learnt information about CMT, so I will endeavour to draft a start.

You ask two questions:

A)  Do you know if she published any more?

B)  Or any information currently not in the article (with published citation)?

A)   Publications

Her Thesis is held in the University of Bristol Chemistry Library: (I have not seen this)

1.     Thesis 7:  Taylor, Millicent:  Studies on the constitution of soaps in solution.

The following (Refs 2-16) are in an MT archive box in the University of Bristol Library, Special Collections Archive:

           Research Papers

2.     Taylor M (1903) Ueber die Additionsproducte aus Benzylidenanilin und Acetessigsaeuremethylester.  Berichte der Deutchen Chemischen Gesellschaft XXXVI Heft 5 p941

3.     Francis F E and Taylor M (1904) The additive products of Benzylideneaniline with Ethyl Acetoacetate and Ethyl Methylacetoacetate.  J. Chem Soc  1904 Vol 85 p998

4.     Taylor M (1906) The constitution of acetone.  J. Chem Soc 1906 Vol 89 p 1258

5.     McBain J W and Taylor M (1910) Uber die elektrische Leitfahigkeit von Seifenloesungen.  Berichte der Deutchen Chemischen Gesellschaft XXXXIII Heft 2 p321

6.     McBain J and Taylor M (1911) Zur Kenntnis der Konstitution von Seifenloesungen:  Loesungen von “Natriumpalmitaten”  Zeitschrift fur physikalische Chemie LXXVI 2  p 179 Leipzig

7.     McBain J W and Taylor M (1919) The degree of hydration of the particles which form the structural basis of soap curd, determined in experiments on sorption and salting out.  J. Chem Soc 1919, Vol 115 p1301

8.     McBain J W, Taylor M and Laing, Mary Evelyn (1922)  Studies of the constitution of soap solutions of sodium palmitate and the effect of excess of palmitic acid or sodium hydroxide.  J. Chem Soc 1922 Vol 121 p621

9.     Webb H W and Taylor M. (1922) The Nitrometer method for the determination of Nitrogen in nitrates and nitric acid.  J Chem Industry 1922 Vol XLI No 23 p 362

10.  Taylor M (1928)  A highly accurate method for the analysis of urea.  J. American Chem Soc, V50, p3261-3265.

11.  Taylor M and Sawyer E W (1929)  The transference of water and its dependence on concentration in the electrolysis of sodium chloride solutions.  J Chem Soc 1929, p 2095.

12.  Taylor M (1947)  The solubility at high temperatures of pure sucrose in water.  J Chem Soc 1947, p 1678

13.  Dunning W J, Evans H C and Taylor M (1951) The vapour pressure of concentrated aqueous sucrose solutions up to the pressure of 760mm. J Chem Soc 1951 p 2363

Occasional monograph

14.  Taylor M (1912)  The Mining Camps of Cobalt and Porcupine.  Thomas Hailing Ltd, Cheltenham

Obituaries

15.  Baker W (1962) Millicent Taylor 1871-1960.  Reprint from the Proceedings of the Chemical Society, Feb 1962 p 64

16.  Anon (1961) Millicent Taylor. Guild Leaflet No 182, Jan 1961 (Journal of Cheltenham Ladies College Old Girls)

Other Publications not seen:

found online through searching Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing:

17.  Flecker, Oriel Joyce and Taylor M (1922) Studies of the constitution of soap solutions. Sodium behenate and sodium nonoate.  J Chem Soc 1922, p 1101

18.  Davies G, Hassid N and Taylor M. (1932) The transference of water. Part II.  Its dependence on concentration and temperature in the electrolysis of sodium chloride solutions. J Chem Soc 1932, p 2497

19.  Taylor, M and Willcox, Violet R.  (1937)  The transference of water. Part III.  Its dependence on concentration in the electrolysis of barium chloride solutions.  J Chem Soc 1937, p 902

found online

20.  Taylor M (1926) The transference numbers of sodium and hydrogen in mixed chloride solution. J Amer Chem Soc V48 p599-603

B          Other information not currently in the Wiki article:

           She travelled extensively.  In the summer of 1911 she visited Northern Ontario to the mining camps of Cobalt and Porcupine only to find that the latter had been devastated by a recent wildfire with considerable loss of life ^{14, 15.} She contracted typhoid during this trip (Correspondence within family).

           She took up mountaineering in her 50s and was an early member of the Pinnacle Club for women climbers.  Between 1923 and 1938 she climbed in Wales, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Poland, Iceland and Norway.  She climbed Mont Blanc in August 1924.  (MT’s Climbing Journal held by family members). Nyilima (talk) 17:38, 21 December 2023 (UTC)