Robert John Kane

Sir Robert John Kane (24 September 1809 – 16 February 1890) was an Irish chemist and educator.

The young Kane studied chemistry at his father's factory, and attended lectures at the Royal Dublin Society as a teenager. The following year, his description of the natural arsenide of manganese resulted in the compound being named Kaneite in his honour. He studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating in 1834 whilst working in the Meath Hospital. He was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the Apothecaries' Hall, Dublin in 1831, which earned him the moniker of the "boy professor".

He published a three-volume Elements of Chemistry in 1841–1844, and a detailed report on the Industrial Resources of Ireland.

Also in 1845 he became the first President of Queen's College, Cork (now University College Cork). Kane's eldest son Robert Romney Kane was known as a barrister. The second son, Henry Coey Kane, became an admiral in the Royal Navy.