William Cullen, Past-President of the Institution, died of pneumonia in Edinburgh on 14th August, 1918, at the age of 81.
He was born in Scotland, educated at Hutcheson’s Grammar School, and received his technical training at the Andersonian College (now the Royal Technical College), Glasgow, and in 1883 studied chemistry under the late Professor Dittmar, with whom he remained as assistant from 1886 to 1890. In 1888 he studied metallurgy at Freiburg School of Mines, Germany.
He joined the staff of Nobel’s Explosives Co., Ltd., Glasgow, in 1890, as chief research chemist, and eight years later was appointed technical adviser to Kynoch, Ltd., of Birmingham. In 1901, after a period of consulting work in London, he became manager of the British South African Explosives Co.’s factory at Modderfontein, where he remained until 1915. During this period he was second-in-command of the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles, and for eight or nine years he commanded the Imperial Light Horse.
He returned to England in 1915, becoming director of the company until it was merged into Nobel Industries, Ltd., in 1917. From 1915 to 1919 he worked at the Ministry of Munitions, and since had practised as a consulting chemical engineer, retaining his connection with Nobel Industries and, later, Imperial Chemical industries, Ltd.
He was President of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa in 1905 and at the same time was Honorary Secretary of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science, later becoming Vice-President. He took a wide interest in higher education and was at one time chairman of the Governing Body of the present University of the Witwatersrand, from which he received in 1925 the honorary degree of LL.D. He was President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers from 1937 to 1939 and of the Society of Chemical Industry from 1941 to 1943. Dr. Cullen served on the Council of the Institution from 1924 and was President during the Session 1929-1930. In recognition of his long and valued services to the mining and metallurgical profession and to the Institution he was elected an Honorary Member of the Institution a few months before his death.
He contributed five papers to the Transactions of the Institution: ‘Data on the use of explosives in mining’ (vol. 35, 1925-26); ‘The possibilities of reviving non-ferrous metallurgy in Great Britain’ (vol. 38, 1928-29); ‘Modern mining explosives’ (Presidential Address) (vol. 39, 1929-30); ‘Recent changes in mining explosives and their uses’ (vol. 45, 1935-36); and ‘A recent development in explosives’ (vol. 47, 1937-38).
Professor S.J. Truscott writes: A profession not only provides livelihood but fosters friendship. For friendship to arise common employment in work is not essential in itself nor is intimacy demanded; but the occasions for meeting must be sufficient that mutual liking may be established. To this desirable end professional institutions like our own greatly serve. Cullen made many such friendships and had a host of friends. Springing by competence and personal initiative quite early into prominence, his frank independence, his exuberant cheeriness, and his assiduous attendance — in our case for some 24 years — made him a most welcome colleague in institutional councils and, no doubt, also in commercial circles. Beyond this, his capacity and desire overflowed into educational channels mostly of university source, an honorary service in which he deeply and devotedly interested himself.
Never a man to lie dead in his own lifetime, long as it might and did last, nor a man to make a poor mouth over pain, Cullen, while largely outliving his own generation, lived successively and successfully in succeeding generations, eventually and without murmur passing over into the life beyond. Wise throughout with the wisdom of age, Cullen never lost his air of youthfulness. Age did not weary him nor the years condemn.
Vol. 58, Trans I.M.M. 1948-9, pp. 584-5
