John Stenhouse Scientist
- Name : Stenhouse
- Born : 1809
- Died : 1890
- Category : Science
- Finest Moment : First gas mask
The dreadful carnage of World War I was made even more horrible by the introduction of new and novel ways of killing; poisonous gases, released onto battlefields, was one such method. The first use of gas during this war took place on April 22, 1915, when the Germans tried to break the stalemate that had developed in the Ypres salient. On that evening they released 168 tons of chlorine from 4,000 cylinders, against two French Divisions and an adjoining Canadian Division. Hundreds of troops were affected, becoming comatose or dying. A new depth of inhumanity had been reached.
Born in Glasgow, and educated at the University there, John Stenhouse studied chemistry. He was unlucky in health, but persisted with his research, and made a breakthrough with his discovery that wood charcoal had a disinfecting property when used with air filters. This was applied to gas masks, which saved countless lives. Charcoal absorbs and holds a relatively large volume of poisonous gases. It is usually powdered and dried, when it is known as activated charcoal.