Northern Ireland local section's dedication leads to restoration of grave of Belfast science pioneer Thomas Andrews

The grave of Northern Irish scientific visionary Thomas Andrews was yesterday rededicated in a special ceremony after weeks of restoration work in a Belfast cemetery.

Members of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Northern Ireland section engaged Grave Concern Ireland to restore the resting place of Queen’s University Belfast pioneer Thomas Andrews.

The chemical scientist and physicist died in 1885 at the age of 71 and was buried in Belfast City Cemetery at the end of a life that saw him produce research still relevant today.

Among his most significant findings was the discovery of the ‘critical temperature’ for the liquefaction of carbon dioxide, which is the basis of cryogenics and low-temperature chemistry and physics. The modern refrigerator was also born out of his research on the liquefaction of gases.

As well as restoring the grave and attending the event, members of the RSC’s Northern Ireland section also tracked down two members of the extended Andrews family who live locally.

Robert Andrews is a chemistry teacher at Hazelwood College in Belfast, while Johnny Andrews, a chartered accountant in the city, also hopes news of the celebration will help him to find other descendants of the chemistry great.

“The Northern Ireland Local Section was involved in getting the Chemistry Landmark plaque for Thomas Andrews and it is fitting that now they have helped to restore his grave,” said Dr Dermot Hanna, the secretary of the RSC Northern Ireland local section.

Andrews, who was born and raised in Belfast, took on a number of key roles around the city in the 1830s. In 1835, he became both the professor of chemistry at the Belfast Academical Institution and the attending physician at the Belfast General Hospital. Three years later, he was named medical officer to the Belfast Union Infirmary.

In 1845, he was then appointed the vice-president of the newly established Queen’s University of Belfast, resigning from his teaching position and private practice. He also became the first professor of chemistry at Queen’s and served in both roles until 1879.

As well as establishing himself an authority in scientific circles, he also served as a president of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, was elected to the Royal Irish Academy, and became a member – and then president – of the Belfast Literary Society.

His work also saw him elected as a fellow of the Royal Society, five years after he received the organisation’s prestigious Royal Medal in 1844.

Andrews has previously been honoured by the RSC, which recognised his contribution to science with a National Chemical Landmark blue plaque at Queen's University Belfast in 2013.

RSC representatives were reacquainted with this the day before the grave rededication when they joined staff from Queen's University's chemistry department and library, who laid on a tour and display of some of its impressive array of Andrews artefacts. These included correspondence with Michael Faraday, early photographs of some of his work and other pieces of history.

The tour and the grave rededication exemplified the impact Andrews had on both Queen's and chemistry history. RSC chief executive Dr Helen Pain gave a short speech paying tribute to Andrews and the hard-working members of the local section who honoured him.