Augustus George Vernon Harcourt

Chemical kinetics In a long partnership, Harcourt and William Esson studied the rates of chemical reactions. Among the processes they investigated was the acid-catalyzed iodine clock reaction (iodide and hydrogen peroxide). Their work showed that the reaction's changing rate was proportional to the concentration of reactants present. This result was later formalised by Guldberg and Waage as the law of mass action. Harcourt and Esson also studied the reaction between oxalic acid and potassium permanganate.

Other scientific work Harcourt's other activities included inventing a device to safely administer chloroform as an anesthetic, and the analysis and purification of coal gas, used for illumination. Harcourt also invented pentane-burning lamps that served as photometric standards.

Honours and activities 1863: Fellow of the Royal Society 1865–1873: Secretary of the Chemical Society 1895: President of the Chemical Society