Donald Charlton Bradley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Donald Charlton Bradley
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| Born | 7 November 1924 |
| Died | 20 December 2014 (aged 90) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Birkbeck, University of London |
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| Awards | Royal Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Inorganic chemistry |
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| Doctoral advisor | William Wardlaw |
| Doctoral students | Malcolm H. Chisholm |
Donald Charlton Bradley (1924–2014) was a British chemist. He was known for his important work with special chemical compounds called metal-alkoxides and metal-amides. He studied how to make these compounds, what they looked like, and how their parts connected. He also researched how they could change into metal-oxides and metal-nitrides.
Life Story
Donald Charlton Bradley was born in London on 7 November 1924. He was mainly raised in Hove by his aunt and uncle. He went to Hove County Grammar School for Boys.
Early Career and Studies
After finishing high school with good grades in science and math, Donald worked at the British Electrical and Allied Industries Research Association (ERA). This was during World War II. He helped study how chemicals like mustard gas affected electrical parts. He also looked into making parts like capacitors last longer.
While working, he studied part-time at Birkbeck College in London. He earned a top degree in science in 1946. He then continued his studies and earned his PhD in 1950. His research focused on special compounds called zirconium alkoxides.
Donald continued working at Birkbeck College. He collaborated with other scientists, including Ram Charan Mehrotra, who was visiting from India.
Moving to Canada
In 1959, Donald, his wife, and son moved to Canada. He took a job as a professor at the University of Western Ontario (UWO). He worked there for six years.
Return to London
In 1965, Donald was offered a big job back in London. He became the head of inorganic chemistry at Queen Mary College (QM). One of his important achievements there was hiring Michael Hursthouse, an expert in X-ray crystallography. This helped start a successful research group at QM.
Donald officially retired in 1987. However, he stayed very active in research as a professor emeritus of inorganic chemistry. This means he kept his title and continued his work even after retiring.
Family Life
Donald met Constance Joy Hazeldean (Joy) when they both worked at the ERA. She was the librarian there. They got married in 1948 and had a son named David in 1951. Joy passed away in 1985.
In 1988, Donald met Ann Levy. They married in 1990.
Donald Charlton Bradley passed away on 20 December 2014.
