| Sir Robert Robinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 September 1886 Derbyshire, England |
| Died | 8 February 1975 (aged 88) Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields | Organic chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Sydney University of Liverpool British Dyestuffs Corporation University of Manchester University of London University of Oxford |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
| Doctoral advisor | William Henry Perkin, Jr. |
| Doctoral students | Arthur John Birch William Sage Rapson |
| Known for | Development of Organic synthesis |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1947) Franklin Medal (1947) |
Sir Robert Robinson OM, PRS, FRSE (13 September 1886 – 8 February, 1975) was an English organic chemist and Nobel laureate recognised in 1947 for his research on plant dyestuffs (anthocyanins) and alkaloids. In 1947, he also received the Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm.
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Born at Rufford Farm, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire,[1] Robinson went to school at the Chesterfield Grammar School, the private Fulneck School and the University of Manchester.
He was appointed as the first Professor of Pure and Applied Organic Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney in 1912.[2] He was the Waynflete Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University from 1930 and a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Robinson Close in the Science Area at Oxford is named after him,[3] as is the Robert Robinson Laboratory at the University of Liverpool.
His synthesis of tropinone, a precursor of cocaine, in 1917 was not only a big step in alkaloid chemistry but also showed that tandem reactions in a one-pot synthesis are capable of forming bicyclic molecules.[4] [5]
He invented the symbol for benzene having a circle in the middle whilst working at St Andrews University in 1923. He is known for inventing the use of the curly arrow to represent electron movement, and he is also known for discovering the molecular structures of morphine and penicillin.
In 1957 Robinson founded the journal Tetrahedron with fifty other editors for Pergamon Press.
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