THOMAS GRAHAM.

THOMAS GRAHAM.
(21 December 1805 – 16 September 1869) was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Graham's father was a successful textile manufacturer, and wanted his son to enter into the Church of Scotland. Instead, defying his father's wishes, Graham became a student at the University of Glasgow in 1819. There he developed a strong interest in chemistry, and left the University after receiving his M.A. in 1826. He later became a professor of chemistry at numerous colleges, including the Royal College of Science and Technology and the University of London.
Graham also founded the Chemical Society of London in 1841.
His final position was as the Master of the Mint, where he stayed for 15 years until his death. He was the last person to hold that position.

What inspired him in his childhood?

Opportunities for graduate Scottish doctors in the 1840s were limitet unless they came from a wealthy or connected background. Thomas had neither background, so choices for a medical career were few. His options would have been to work in a hospital and eventually go into private practice, or join the services. Perhaps he was inspired by his seafaring uncle who was also named Thomas Graham and served with Nelson. He had in fact been fortunate to work in his brother's Longtown practice, so had the experience of that life, but opted for a different and much more exciting career.

What makes his discovery important ?

In 1829 Graham published a paper on the diffusion of gases. Observations on this subject had been made by Joseph Priestley and Johann Döbereiner, but it was Graham who formulated the law of diffusion. He compared the rates at which various gases diffused through porous pots, and also the rate of effusion through a small aperture, and concluded that the rate of diffusion (or effusion) of a gas at constant pressure and temperature is inversely proportional to the square root of its density.

What challenges did he faced in his life ?

Thomas Graham was born in 1818, in the small Scottish village of Ecclefechan, one hundred miles south of Edinburgh, where his father was a merchant. A village notable for being the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle, the famous Victorian author, who became known as the "Sage of Ecclefechan". Both Thomas' parents, and several brothers and sisters had died by the time he was eight years old, leaving him in the care of his twenty nine year old sister Catherine, who assumed the role of parent/guardian, responsible for his upbringing and education.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Graham_(chemist)

or

http://www.cenart.net/thomasgraham/sitefiles/about/story.htm