George Edward Davis (1850–1907) is regarded as the founding father of the discipline of chemical engineering.

At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a local bookbinder but he abandoned this trade after two years to pursue his interest in chemistry.

He also worked as an inspector for the Alkali Act of 1863, a very early piece of environmental legislation that required soda manufacturers to reduce the amount of gaseous hydrochloric acid released to the atmosphere from their factories.

[7][1] His lectures were criticized for being common place know-how since it was designed around operating practices used by British chemical industries.

[1] In the 1st floor foyer of Jackson's Mill, the building that houses the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, there is a display and memorial to Davis.