Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney K. C. B.

     Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney K. C. B., son of Rev. Edward Henry Abney and Catherine Strutt, was born on 24 July 1843 in St. Alkmund, Derbyshire, England.¹

William married first Agatha Matilda Smith on 4 August 1864 in Beverley, Yorkshire, England. She was the daughter of Edward William Smith.² Young William developed an early interest in photography through his father, a close friend of pioneering English photographer, William Henry Fox-Talbot. William attended Rossall School, the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and joined the Royal Engineers in 1861, with whom he served in India for several years. Thereafter, and to further his knowledge in photography, he became a chemical assistant at the Chatham School of Military Engineering.

Abney was a pioneer of several technical aspects of photography. His endeavors in the chemistry of photography produced useful photographic products and also developments in astronomy. In 1874, Abney developed a dry photographic emulsion, which replaced "wet" emulsions. Abney also introduced new and useful types of photographic paper, including in 1882 a formula for gelatin silver chloride paper. His pioneering work lead to the development of color photography and the instant Poloroid print.

He conducted early research into the field of spectroscopy, developing a red-sensitive emulsion which was used for the infrared spectra of organic molecules. He was knighted in 1900 for the body of his scientific work.

William Abney invented the "Abney Level", a combined clinometer and spirit level, used by surveyors to measure slopes and angles.

William married second Mary Louisa Mead on 3 December 1889. She was the daughter of Edward Nathaniel Mead.

He inherited Measham Hall from the estate of his cousin William Wotten Abney, following the death of his widow, Helen, in 1893.

Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney K. C. B. died on 3 December 1920 in Folkestone, Kent County, England, at age 77. He was buried in Christ Church Graveyard, Folkestone, England.