In his address to the American Ceramic Society, Edwin Arthur discussed the importance of pH--and, by extension, the measurement of pH with Beckman instruments--in the work of ceramists.

Arnold Beckman invented his first pH meter in 1934 at the request of a chemist from the California citrus industry, who needed an accurate way to measure the acidity of his product. The resulting instrument kicked off rapid development not only of Beckman Instruments, Inc. but also of the electronic scientific instrument industry.