Sir Ian Heilbron DSO FRS (6 November 1886 – 14 September 1959) was a Scottish chemist,[2][3][4] who pioneered organic chemistry developed for therapeutic and industrial use.[5]
Sir Ian Heilbron | |
|---|---|
| Born | Isidor Morris Heilbron 6 November 1886 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 14 September 1959 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Alma mater | Royal Technical College and University of Leipzig |
| Spouse | Elda Marguerite Davis |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Organic chemistry |
| Institutions |
|
| Academic advisors | Arthur Rudolf Hantzsch |
Early life and education
editIsidor Morris Heilbron was born in Glasgow on 6 November 1886 to a wine merchant (David Heilbron) and his wife (Fanny Jessel).[6] He was Jewish.[7][8]
He was educated at Glasgow High School and then the Royal Technical College with G. G. Henderson. Following an award of a Carnegie Fellowship he went to the University of Leipzig to study under Arthur Rudolf Hantzsch for his doctoral thesis (1907–1910).[9]
He was awarded a Ph.D. He received a D.Sc. at the University of Glasgow in 1918 for his 'Contribution to the Study of Semi-carbazones' and other papers.[6]
Military service
editHe served in the Royal Army Service Corps (1910–1920). He was awarded a Distinguished Service Order in 1918 for distinguished service related to operations in Salonika.[6] He was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the Redeemer by the Greek government. He achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel, Assistant Director of Supplies.[10]
During the Second World War from 1939 to 1942 he worked as a scientific advisor to the Department of Scientific Research in the Ministry of Supply. After 1942 he became a scientific advisor to the Ministry of Production.[citation needed]
Career
editHis independent research career focused on the chemistry of natural products, including work on sterols, vitamin D, vitamin A, polyene synthesis, Squalene, terpenes, pyrylium salts, algal pigments, and spiropyrans.[10] He was also instrumental in the development of DDT to fight malaria and yellow fever.[11] Heilbron, with Arthur Herbert Cook, also studied the synthesis and structure of penicillin.[12]
Appointments
edit- Lecturer, Royal Technical College, 1909–14
- Scientist, later consultant at British Dyestuffs Corp. (later renamed Imperial Chemical Industries)
- Professor of organic chemistry, Royal Technical College, 1919–20
- Professor, University of Liverpool, 1920–33 (Heath Harrison Chair of Organic Chemistry)
- Professor, University of Manchester, 1933-8 (Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry, 1935-8)
- Professor of Organic Chemistry and Director of the Laboratories, Imperial College, 1938–49
- 1949: Retired from academic research[9]
- Director, Brewing Industry Research Foundation, 1949–58
- Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Royal Military College of Science[10]
- International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry
- Editor-in-chief of the “Dictionary of Organic Compounds” and
- Chairman of the editorial board of “Thorpe’s Dictionary of Applied Chemistry.”
Notable trainees
editSource:[13]
While at University of Liverpool
edit- Frank Stuart Spring, graduate student (1930)
While at University of Manchester
edit- Basil Lythgoe, graduate student, (1936)
- Ewart Ray Herbert Jones, post-doc (1938)
While at Imperial College
edit- Stanley H. Harper, graduate student (1937)
- Derek Harold Richard Barton, graduate student (1942)
- Basil Weedon, graduate student, (1942)
- Ralph Alexander Raphael, graduate student (1943)
- Ernest A. R. Braude, graduate student (1944)
- John Arthur Elvidge, graduate student (1947)
- Franz Sondheimer, graduate student (1948)
- Marc Julia, graduate student (1948)[14]
While at Imperial Chemical Industries
edit- Alan Woodworth Johnson, research scientist (1946)
Notable collaborators
editWhile at University of Liverpool
editAwards and honours
edit- 1911: Fellow of the Institute of Chemistry (F.I.C.)[10]
- 1931: Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)[10]
- 1939: Longstaff Medal of the Chemical Society of London[10]
- 1943: Davy Medal from the Royal Society "In recognition of his many notable contributions to organic chemistry, especially to the chemistry of natural products of physiological importance"
- 1945: The American Chemical Society honored him with its highest prize, the Priestley Medal. This was the first time the award went to a non-American.[9]
- 1946: In recognition of his work during war he was appointed a Knight Bachelor[1]
- 1951: Royal Medal from the Royal Society
References
edit- ^ a b Cook, A. H. (1960). "Ian Morris Heilbron. 1886–1959". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 6: 65–85. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1960.0025. ISSN 0080-4606.
- ^ Alan Cook (2004). "Heilbron, Sir Ian Morris [formerly Isidor Morris]". In Watson, K. D (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33799. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Profile of Ian Heilbron Archived 6 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "On This Day – Nov 06 : Ian Heilbron was born". RSC Education. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "HEILBRON, Sir Ian Morris". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1920–2015 (2015 ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 25 January 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c "University of Glasgow :: Story : Biography of Lieutenant Colonel Isidore Morris Heilbron". universitystory.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ Rubinstein, W. D.; Jolles, Michael; Rubinstein, Hilary L., eds. (2011). The Palgrave dictionary of Anglo-Jewish history. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 410. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6. OCLC 793104984.
- ^ Levy, A. (1955). "The Origins of Scottish Jewry". Transactions (Jewish Historical Society of England). 19: 129–162. ISSN 2047-2331. JSTOR 29777950.
- ^ a b c "Chemical & Engineering News: The Priestly Medal – 1945: Ian Morris Heilbron (1886–1959)". pubsapp.acs.org. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Isador M. Heilbron (1881–)". Journal of Chemical Education. 17 (2): 51. 1 February 1940. Bibcode:1940JChEd..17...51.. doi:10.1021/ed017p51. ISSN 0021-9584.
- ^ Heilbron, I. M. (1945). "The New Insecticidal Material DDT". Journal of the Royal Society of Arts. 93 (4682): 65–71. ISSN 0035-9114. JSTOR 41361779.
- ^ Billimoria, J. D.; Cook, A. H.; Heilbron, Ian (1949). "307. Studies in the azole series. Part XVI. Synthesis of a new analogue of penicillamine". Journal of the Chemical Society (Resumed): 1437–1440. doi:10.1039/jr9490001437. ISSN 0368-1769.
- ^ "Chemistry Tree – Ian (Isidore) Morris Heilbron Family Tree". academictree.org. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ Gay, Hannah (2016). The Chemistry Department at Imperial College, London : a history, 1845–2000. Griffith, W. P. (William Pettitt), 1936–. New Jersey. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-78326-974-7. OCLC 965146304.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Goodwin, T W (1977). "R. A. Morton". Nature. 266 (5600): 394. Bibcode:1977Natur.266..394G. doi:10.1038/266394a0. S2CID 31211784.