Robert Williams (English chemist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Williams
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| Born | 25 February 1926 Wallasey, Cheshire, England
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| Died | 21 March 2015 (aged 89) Oxford, England
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| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Known for | Irving–Williams series |
| Spouse(s) |
Jelly Büchli
(m. 1952) |
| Awards | Royal Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Thesis | An investigation of the complex compounds of some metals (1950) |
| Doctoral advisor | Harry Irving |
| Doctoral students |
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| Influenced | |
Robert Joseph Paton Williams (born February 25, 1926, died March 21, 2015) was a famous English chemist. He was a respected professor at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford. He made big discoveries about how metals work in living things.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Robert Joseph Paton Williams was born on February 25, 1926, in Wallasey, England. He was one of four children. His father, Ernest, worked for customs, and his mother, Alice, was a milliner (someone who makes hats).
When he was young, Robert got sick with diphtheria and missed six months of school. Because of this, he didn't get a scholarship to Wallasey Grammar School. But his parents still paid for him to go.
In 1944, he earned a special scholarship to study chemistry at Merton College, Oxford. For his final year, he worked with a chemist named Harry Irving. Together, they found out how stable different metal-organic compounds were. He noticed that this pattern was similar to how living things take in metal ions.
University Studies and Discoveries
After finishing his first degree, Robert planned to continue working with Harry Irving for his PhD. But first, he visited a lab in Sweden. He was very impressed by what he saw there. After he earned his PhD in 1950, he went back to Sweden. During this longer visit, he worked on cleaning proteins and invented a new way to analyze them called gradient elution.
Career at Oxford University
After his time in Sweden, Robert returned to Merton College with a special research scholarship. In 1954, a chemistry professor at Oxford, Cyril Hinshelwood, asked to meet him. Robert was told that three colleges needed a chemistry tutor. He chose to join Wadham College, Oxford in 1955 and stayed there for the rest of his life. Many students studied under him, including Peter Day and Carole Perry.
Robert's work in chemistry led him to write a two-volume textbook. He became very interested in how enzymes work, especially the role of metal ions like copper in proteins. He and another scientist, Bert Vallee, came up with the idea of the "entatic state." This idea explains how atoms in enzymes are held in perfect positions to help chemical reactions happen.
In the very first paper published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, Robert suggested that for energy to be made in cells, certain ions needed to be kept separate. Around the same time, Peter Mitchell proposed a similar idea. Robert later wrote about how he and Mitchell shared their ideas.
Robert also helped us understand how different chemical elements are spread out in living things. He wrote several books on this topic with other scientists. He retired in 1991 and spent much of his retirement writing these important books.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Robert Williams received many honors for his work.
- In 1972, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), which is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
- He was also a member of science academies in Sweden, Portugal, and other countries.
- He won many medals from different scientific societies, including the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
- In 1995, he received the Royal Medal, another very important award from the Royal Society.
- In 2010, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for helping his local community in North Oxford.
Family Life
While he was in Sweden, Robert met Jelly Klara Büchli, a student from the Netherlands. They got married in 1952 and lived in Oxford. Jelly studied English at St Hilda's College, Oxford. They had two sons, Timothy and John. Jelly also published a book called A Dutch Reader.
Robert Williams passed away on March 21, 2015, in John Radcliffe Hospital.
