William Ramsay (1852 -1916) , well-known as an evangelical Christian chemist, was the co-discoverer of argon and the other inert gases. His discovery of terrestrial helium on the earth led him to study radioactive decay processes, and he was the first to demonstrate an actual transmutation of elements (radium into helium) by these processes. This, in turn, led him to the beginnings of what later was called isotopic chemistry by his assistant, Soddy, who then more fully developed the theory of isotopes.

Excerpted from Men of Science, Men of God by Henry M. Morris. Copyright 1982, 1988 by Henry M. Morris. Used by permission. RETURN TO LIST OF DECEASED INDUCTEES.