James was born in June 1810 in Partick, Glasgow the son of James Napier, a gardener, and Margaret Buchanan, a seamstress. He was apprenticed as a dyer and attended extramural classes in chemistry at Glasgow University under Prof Thomas Graham.[2]
Napier made several important advances within industrial chemistry and lodged several patents.
After his wife died in March 1881, he never fully recovered from the event, and he died at his home, Maryfield, Bothwell, Lanarkshire on 1 December 1884.[4]
Family
In October 1831 he married Christina McIndoe. They had eight children.
Publications
Amongst his publications are:
Manufacturing Art in Ancient Times
Notes and Reminiscences of Partick
Folk Lore or Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century (1879)