Thomas R Briggs

Obituary for Thomas Roland Briggs
The Ithaca Journal, Aug 11 1952, P. 3, Col. 2., with photo

"The funeral of Thomas Roland Briggs of 113 Ithaca Rd., professor of chemistry at Cornell who died in Memorial Hospital Saturday, Aug. 9, 1952, will be held Tuesday.
  The services will be conducted by the Rev. Frank Sperduto of the First Presbyterian Church at 2:30 p.m. in the Wagner Funeral Home, 421 N. Aurora St. Interment will be in East Lawn Cemetery.
  Professor Briggs had been a resident of Ithaca almost continually from the day he matriculated at Cornell in 1905.
  He wrote numerous scientific articles, particularly in the fields of electrochemistry and colloid chemistry and in phase-rule studies of the inorganic systems.
-- Plating Process Developed--
  His early studies in electrochemistry contributed greatly to the development of a process for chromium plating. His studies of emulsions were important in the development of asphalt emulsions for roofing materials and highway surfaces.
  Professor Briggs was born Sept. 2, 1887, in Huddersfield, England. He entered Cornell from Flushing, L.I., High School and received the A.B. degree in 1909. He was an assistant in chemistry and received the Ph.D. degree in 1913. From 1912 to 1914 he was an instructor in chemistry at Worcester, Mass., Polytechnic Institute.
  He became assistant professor of physical chemistry and electrochemistry at Cornell in 1915 and was made a full professor in 1925.
  -- Served as Consultant --
  In 1918-19, Professor Briggs was a consultant to the War Department. From 1929 to 1932 he was a research consultant to the Flintkote Corporation, East Rutherford, N.J. He also served as consultant to the T. A. Edison Company, West Orange, N.J., and other companies.
  He was a member of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity; Alpha Chi Sigma, chemistry society; Sigma Xi, honorary scientific society, and the American Chemical Society.
  Professor Briggs is survived by his wife, Mrs. Frances Ingalls Briggs; a daughter, Miss Adelaide Elizabeth Briggs of Ithaca; three sons, Lynton Ingalls Briggs of Ithaca, George Roland Briggs of Boston, Mass., and Gifford Goodwin Briggs of New York City; a sister, Miss Adelaide Briggs of New York City, and a grandson, Thomas Gifford Briggs of Boston."

Cornell University Memorial Statement for Professor Thomas Roland Briggs
(September 2, 1887 — August 9, 1952)

"Thomas Roland Briggs, Professor of Physical Chemistry, died in Ithaca Memorial Hospital, on August 9, 1952, following a long illness. He was born in Huddersfield, England, on September 2, 1887, and came to the United States with his parents in January, 1888. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1918. He received his early education in the public schools near New York and after graduating from Flushing High School, he entered Cornell, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1909 and the doctorate in chemistry in 1913.
  After serving two years as instructor in chemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he returned to Cornell in 1915 as Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry, and was made Professor of Physical Chemistry in 1925.
  Professor Briggs was known among his many students as a very stimulating and forceful teacher. Gifted with imagination, dignity of manner and a keen sense of audience feeling, Professor Briggs’ lectures were models of good organization, precision and clarity. Many graduate students in the fields of chemistry, biology and soil science for more than a quarter of a century have cited him as an inspiring influence during their years of training
at Cornell. One of them said of him recently, “He made science dynamic, and research an exciting adventure. He was a teacher.”
  His advent into the field of physical chemistry coincided with the rapid development of the field of colloidal chemistry. His work on electroendosmose and his summation of knowledge in the field was an important contribution to the field of plant physiology and soils technology, as well as to chemistry. His research work in the field of phase equilibria and emulsification was extensive. His contributions in these various fields were of immediate value in the development of industrial processes. He recognized the practical application of his research work and served effectively as consultant to various corporations.
  Professor Briggs was an ardent fisherman and loved to take a fishing trip with friends or his sons to some local stream or to some distant lake or stream in Canada or his summer camp in New Hampshire. As a hobby, he became very interested in the history of American railroads and maintained an extensive library on the development of the various systems.
  He was a member of Phi Kappa Tau and Alpha Chi Sigma fraternities and of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
  He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Francis Ingalls Briggs, and his four children, Lynton and Adelaide, of Ithaca; George, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Gifford, of New York City, all of whom graduated from Cornell.
  In the death of Professor Briggs, Cornell has lost a devoted alumnus and teacher, whose passing has brought a deep feeling of personal sorrow to his former students, his colleagues in chemistry and to other friends on the campus."

Dr Thomas Roland Briggs

DoB: 2 Sep 1887
PoB: Huddersfield, Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England
Died: 9 Aug 1952, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York
Buried: East Lawn Cemetery, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York