Robert Robinson

@University Of Manchester, Family and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Sir Robert Robinson was a British scientist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry British University Of Manchester Scientists Chemists Organic Chemists Virgo Celebrities Sir Robert Robinson was a British scientist who received the Nobel Prize and Knighthood for his work on the structure and synthesis of natural elements which included plant pigments and alkaloids. He was an authority on chemistry, synthesis, electronic theory and other scientific subjects. He was able to synthesize many flavones and anthocyanins from his initial study of plant pigments. He focused his research on alkaloids and their complex structures which occurred naturally and had biological and chemical effects on all living things. His studies on the chemical reactions that occur in plants to form alkaloids helped him discover the structures of morphine and strychnine in 1925 and 1946 respectively. His research led to the synthesis of penicillin and many other drugs which are used to fight malaria. He was also one of the proponents of the theory of electrons in organic chemistry which was related to the structure of organic molecules. He helped in creating many new dyes which are used in the textile industry. He was an inventor as well and invented an automatic lint cutting machine in his younger days. He received an Order of Merit for his research work in the field of organic chemistry.

Personal Details

Birthday: September 13, 1886 Died on: February 8, 1975 Nationality: British Famous: University Of Manchester, Scientists, Chemists, Organic Chemists Spouses: Gertrude Maud Walsh, Stearn Sylvia Hillstrom Known as: Sir Robert Robinson Universities: University Of Manchester University of Manchester Information Detail Birthday September 13, 1886 Died on February 8, 1975 Nationality British Famous University Of Manchester, Scientists, Chemists, Organic Chemists Spouses Gertrude Maud Walsh, Stearn Sylvia Hillstrom Known as Sir Robert Robinson Universities University Of Manchester University of Manchester Notable Alumnis University Of Manchester Birth Place Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England Gender Male Father William Bradbury Robinson Mother Jane Davenport Sun Sign Virgo Born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England Famous as Scientist Died at Age 88

Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England

Robert Robinson born at Unsplash Birth Place

He married Gertrude Maud Walsh, a fellow student in Manchester, on August 7, 1912. Unsplash Personal Life

His first daughter was born in 1914 but died after one day. Their second daughter Marion was born in 1921 and a son later. Unsplash Personal Life

He married Stearn Sylvia Hillstrom in 1957 after Gertrude’s death in 1954. Unsplash Personal Life

Sir Robert Robinson was born on September 13, 1886 on the Rufford Farm near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom. His father was William Bradbury Robinson and his mother was Jane Davenport who was the second wife of William. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

His father had ten children from his first marriage while Robert was the eldest of the five children from his father’s second marriage. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He first attended a kindergarten school in a town in near Chesterfield. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After kindergarten he attended the ‘Chesterfield Grammar School’ as a weekly boarder where his interest in mathematics was first aroused. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

When he was twelve-year-old, he attended the ‘Fulneck School’ near Leeds in West Yorkshire as a boarder. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1912 Sir Robert Robinson travelled to Australia to fill the chair in the ‘Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry’ at the ‘University of Sydney’. Here he did research on the synthesis of various ‘catechol’ derivatives, on C-alkylations of enolates, and on ‘eudesmin’, a component of the oil derived from Australian Eucalyptus trees. Unsplash Career

In 1914 he was invited by the ‘British Association for the Advancement of Science’ to visit them where he met famous British chemists such as H. E. Armstrong, Nevil V. Sidgwick and others. Unsplash Career

At the age of twenty-nine he was appointed to the chair of Organic Chemistry in the University of Liverpool, UK, and was the youngest candidate. He and his wife returned to England while the First World War was going on and resumed his duties at the university in January 1916. Unsplash Career

Soon like all other chemists he was asked to contribute to the war effort and help in the manufacture of picric acid, TNT, Tropinone, morphine and odeine. Unsplash Career

In 1917 he joined ‘Advisory Board’ with other famous chemists to develop natural resources where he developed a new method for producing synthetic ‘octanol’. Unsplash Career

He was elected as a ‘Fellow of the Royal Society’ in 1920. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

In 1921 he became a member of the council in the ‘Chemical Society’. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

He received his knighthood in 1939. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

The Nobel Prize for chemistry was awarded to him in 1947 for his research on alkaloids. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

He received an Order of Merit in 1949. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

Information	Detail
Birthday	September 13, 1886
Died on	February 8, 1975
Nationality	British
Famous	University Of Manchester, Scientists, Chemists, Organic Chemists
Spouses	Gertrude Maud Walsh, Stearn Sylvia Hillstrom
Known as	Sir Robert Robinson
Universities	University Of Manchester University of Manchester
Notable Alumnis	University Of Manchester
Birth Place	Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England
Gender	Male
Father	William Bradbury Robinson
Mother	Jane Davenport
Sun Sign	Virgo
Born in	Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England
Famous as	Scientist
Died at Age	88

Robert Robinson

British

Sep 13, 1886

Biography

Personal Details

Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England