Henry George Madan

Who was Henry George Madan?

Henry George Madan was an English chemist, teacher and academic.

He was born in Cam Vicarage, Gloucestershire, England, the eldest child of George Madan. After an education at Marlborough College, he earned an open exhibition at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He earned a B.A. in 1860, became a fellow of the Queens College, Oxford in 1861 and was awarded an M.A. in 1864. He became the science master at Eton College, where he served for twenty years. He was elected a Fellow of the Chemical Society and published several works on chemistry and physics. In 1887, he co-published Exercises in practical chemistry with A. G. V. Harcourt, which became a standard textbook for many years thereafter.

In 1877, American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered two satellites orbiting the planet Mars. Various names were proposed, but Asaph chose the suggestion of Henry Madan, who proposed the names Deimus and Phobus. Henry was the brother of Falconer Madan, the librarian of the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford. Falconer's granddaughter, Venetia Burney, holds the distinction of being the first person to suggest the name Pluto for the dwarf planet, discovered in 1930.