THE IRIDEUS - MAY 2021
FISHING THROWBACKS
This month’s Fishing Throwback are two plates taken from Salmonia: or Days of Fly Fishing by an Angler. Though the author had wished to be anonymous, it is now attributed to Sir Humphrey Davy, the Cornish chemist and inventor of the Davy Lamp and the early form of the Arc Lamp. One of his greatest contributions to science is the isolation of potassium, sodium, calcium, strontium, barium, magnesium and boron with the use of electricity and discovery of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine. For his scientific and literary recognition, his published Salmonia showcased his passion for fly fishing and earned him the informal title of “the father of modern fly-fishing” and the book is often considered to be “the fly-fisherman’s bible.” The book itself is written as a dialogue between several fishermen, possibly aliases for other well known physicists and chemists of the day who also enjoyed the sport with him. Perhaps on his days off, Sir Humphrey enjoyed the sport of dry fly fishing inbetween such great contributions to chemistry!
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