(Born: Sunville, Limericks, Ireland, 1 September 1796; Died: 1886) Irish physician, mineralogist & chemist.

Apjohn studied medicine in Dublin, where he was for a long time associated with the cities general hospital. He then accepted an appointment as professor of chemistry and mineralogy at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1853, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society from Ireland.

Biographical references: BBA: I 31, 329-333; II 1256, 110. • Boase, Modern English Biography, 1892-1921. • Chemical News: 18 June 1886, p. 296. • Crone, Concise Dictionary of Irish Biography, 1937. • Hirsch, Biographisches Lexikon, 1884-8. • Journal of the Chemical Society: 51 (1887), 469-70. • Poggendorff: 3, 36. • Taylor, W.B.S., History of the University of Dublin ... with biographical notices of many eminent men educated therein. London, 1845. • Waller, Dictionary of Universal Biography, 1857-63. • WBI. • Webb, Compendium of Irish Biography, 1878.

Descriptive Catalogue, 1850

1. English, 1850.
A | Descriptive Catalogue | Of | The Simple Minerals | In The | Systematic Collection | Of | Trinity College, Dublin. | [ornament] | Dublin: | Printed By M.H. Gill, | Printer to the University. | MDCCCL.

8°: π⁸ b² B-U⁸ Y²; 172l.; [i]-xx, [1]-324 p. Page size: 224 x 140 mm.

Contents: [i-ii], Half title page, "Descriptive Catalogue, | &c. &c.," verso blank.; [iii-iv], Title page, verso blank.; [v]-xiii, "Preface."; [xiv], "Errata."; [xv]-xx, "Contents."; [1]-307, Text.; [308], Blank.; [309]-324, "Index."

Very scarce. Published anonymously, but attributed to James Apjohn. The preface provides a short history of earlier catalogs of the collection, before presenting an overview of the methods adopted in this work. Apjohn uses the arrangement of Beudant as outlined in the Traité de Minéralogie (2nd ed., Paris, 1830-1). Thus the collection is arranged in thirty-two sections, corresponding to the families of Beudant. Within each family, the genera and species represented in the specimens of the collection are described. An index at the end gives an alphabetical arrangement of the species mentioned. The number of mineral specimens described is 1,994. Other catalogs of the collection were written by Walter Stephens in 1807, and by Whitley Stokes in 1807 and 1818, under which author's they are listed.

Bibliographical references: BMC: 1, 53 & 482.

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