Arthur Lapworth FRS (10 October 1872 – 5 April 1941) was a Scottish

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

. He was born in

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

, Scotland, the son of geologist

Charles Lapworth Charles Lapworth FRS FGS (20 September 1842 – 13 March 1920) was a headteacher and an English geologist who pioneered faunal analysis using index fossils and identified the Ordovician period. Biography Charles Lapworth was born at Faring ...

, and educated at St Andrew's and

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Bir ...

. He graduated in chemistry from

Mason College Mason Science College was a university college in Birmingham, England, and a predecessor college of Birmingham University. Founded in 1875 by industrialist and philanthropist Sir Josiah Mason, the college was incorporated into the University ...

(later

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

). From 1893 to 1895 he worked on a scholarship at

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

on the chemistry of camphor and the 3 mechanism of aromatic substitution. His first post, in 1895, was as a demonstrator in the School of Pharmacy, University of London in Bloomsbury. He became head of the chemistry department of Goldsmiths Institute, and in 1909 became senior lecturer in inorganic and physical chemistry at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. In 1913 he was appointed professor of organic chemistry; and in 1922, the Sir Samuel Hall Professor (of inorganic and physical chemistry) and director of laboratories. He was a pioneer of the field of

physical organic chemistry Physical organic chemistry, a term coined by Louis Hammett in 1940, refers to a discipline of organic chemistry that focuses on the relationship between chemical structures and reactivity, in particular, applying experimental tools of physical c ...

. His proposal for the reaction mechanism for the benzoin condensation is the basis for our modern-day understanding of organic chemistry. He retired in 1935 and was appointed Professor Emeritus. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in May 1910, and was awarded their

Davy Medal The Davy Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "for an outstandingly important recent discovery in any branch of chemistry". Named after Humphry Davy, the medal is awarded with a monetary gift, initially of £1000 (currently £2000). H ...

in 1931. Lapworth was also an Hon. LL.D. of Birmingham and of St Andrews universities. He married Kathleen Florence Holland at St Mary, Bridgwater on 14 September 1900.Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914 Her brothers were eminent scientists themselves, in 1900. ( Frederick Stanley Kipping and William Henry Perkin, Jr.). Arthur Lapworth retired in 1935 and died on 5 April 1941 in a nursing home in

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapworth, Arthur 1872 births 1941 deaths People from Galashiels Scottish chemists Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of the University of Birmingham 19th-century British scientists 19th-century chemists 20th-century British scientists 20th-century chemists