Ewart Jones

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Professor Sir Ewart Ray Herbert Jones FRS (16 March 1911 – 7 May 2002) was a Welsh organic chemist and academic administrator, whose fields of expertise led him to discoveries into the chemistry of natural products, mainly steroids, terpenes and vitamins. His work also led to the creation of the Jones oxidation.[1]

Jones was born in Wrexham in 1911, and attended Grove Park School before gaining entry to University College of North Wales, Bangor, where he gained a first degree in chemistry in 1932.[2]

Studies

He grew up in the small village of Rhostyllen, Wales with his evangelical family. Between July 1924 and March 1927, his sister died of tuberculosis, his grandmother died and his father drowned himself. After such a tragic period of time, he was schooled in Wrexham, Wales. He entered the University College of North Wales in 1929, hoping to concentrate on physics. However, he left the University with an honors degree in Chemistry. He was invited to stay at the University by the head of the department, J.L. Simonsen, and stayed there for two years.

Personal Life

In 1937 he married Frances Copp who he had met during their studies in Bangor. They had three children, two daughters and a son.

Contributions to Chemistry

At the age of 36 in 1947, Jones accepted the Sir Samuel Hall Professorship of Organic Chemistry at the University of Manchester. He was the Waynflete Professor of Organic Chemistry from 1954 to 1978. After joining the Heilbron group in Manchester, Jones was introduced to acetylene chemistry which eventually led to his work with vitamin A. Later in life, he worked with the Halsall group, specifically with the hydroxyhopanone molecule. After experimenting with different reagents, he discovered the Jones oxidation.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Jones, J. H. (2003). "Sir Ewart Ray Herbert Jones 16 March 1911 - 7 May 2002 Elected FRS 1950". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 49: 263. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2003.0015. JSTOR 3650225. 
  2. ↑ Pearce Wright (18 May 2002). "Sir Ewart Jones". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2010. 
  3. ↑ Heilbron, I.M.; Jones, E.R.H.; Sondheimer, F (1949). "129. Researches on acetylenic compounds. Part XV. The oxidation of primary acetylenic carbinols and glycols". J. Chem. Soc.: 604. doi:10.1039/jr9490000604. 


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