Charles Kemball

Prof Charles Kemball CBE PRSE FRS FRSC FRIC (27 March 1923, in Edinburgh – 4 September 1998, in Tyninghame) was a Scottish chemist who served as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1988–91) and as President of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (1974-6). He pioneered the use of mass spectrometry.^[2]

Life

He was born in Edinburgh on 27 March 1923 the son of Charles Henry Kemball FRSE (1889-1964), a dentist, and his wife, Janet White. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy 1929 to 1940. He then won a place at Cambridge University where he graduated MA before gaining two doctorates (DSc and PhD).^[3]

In 1946 he began working as a Researcher at Princeton University before returning to Cambridge University as a Demonstrator during Chemistry lectures from 1947.

In 1951 he was a recipient of the Meldola Medal from the Chemistry Society, which is awarded to the most promising British chemist under the age of 32.

He was Professor of Physical & Inorganic Chemistry at Queen's University Belfast (1954–66) and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh (1966–87).^[4]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1965 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1967. His proposers for the latter were Sir Edmund Hirst, Neil Campbell, Duncan Taylor and James Pickering Kendall. He twice served as Vice President to the Society: 1971 to 1974 and 1982 to 1985. He served as President 1988 to 1991. He won the Society's Gunning Victoria Jubillee Prize 1976-1980^[5]

Kemball received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1980 ^[6] He was appointed CBE in the 1991 New Year Honours.

He died at home in Tyninghame in East Lothian on 4 September 1998.

Family

In 1956 he married Kathleen Lynd. They had one son, Alan Kemball, and two daughters, Mary and Heather.

References