Place : United States of America Subject : biography, chemistry Scottish physical chemist who pioneered the chemistry of colloids, but who is best known for his studies of the diffusion of gases, the principal law concerning which is named after him. Graham was born on 21 December 1805 in Glasgow, the son of a successful local manufacturer. His father had hoped that his son would, after leaving school, enter the Presbyterian ministry but in 1819, when he was only 14 years old, Graham enrolled at Glasgow University to study science. He later transferred to Edinburgh University and graduated in 1824. He returned to Glasgow to teach at the Mechanics Institute, which had been founded a year or two earlier by George Birkbeck for teaching craftsmen the scientific principles of their trades. In 1830 Graham became professor of chemistry at Anderson's College, Glasgow. He left Scotland seven years later to take up a similar position at University College, London, where he remained until 1854. …