Regarded as the founding father of chemical engineering, he began his career as an apprentice bookbinder. He decided to study chemistry at the Slough Mechanics Institute while working at a local gas works. He spent a year at the Royal School of Mines in London (later Imperial College) before moving to work in the chemical industry around Manchester. Identifying the main features in common to all chemical factories, his A Handbook of Chemical Engineering was published in 1901. Working as an alkali inspector, he was responsible for implementing the Alkali Act of 1863 recognizing the importance of air pollution and the need for environmental protection. He also published a series of twelve lectures given in 1888 at Manchester Technical School and helped to define chemical engineering as a distinct discipline.