George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British

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 th ...

. He was awarded the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

in 1967.

Education and early life

Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. He was educated at

Thorne Grammar School Trinity Academy is a non-selective co-educational secondary school in the English Academy programme, at Thorne near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation, established by entrepreneur Sir Peter ...

, then won a scholarship to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

and gained his first degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. During his degree, Porter was taught by

Meredith Gwynne Evans Meredith Gwynne Evans, FRS (2 December 1904 – 25 December 1952) was a British physical chemist, who made important theoretical contributions in the study of chemical reaction rates and reaction mechanisms. Together with Henry Eyring and Mich ...

, who he later said was the most brilliant chemist he had ever met. He was awarded a PhD from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1949 for research investigating

free radical A daughter category of ''Ageing'', this category deals only with the biological aspects of ageing. Ageing Ailments of unknown cause Biogerontology Biological processes Causes of death Cellular processes Gerontology Life extension Metabo ...

s produced by photochemical means. He would later become a fellow at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

Career and research

Porter served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Porter then went on to do research at the

supervised by

Ronald George Wreyford Norrish Ronald George Wreyford Norrish FRS (9 November 1897 – 7 June 1978) was a British chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Norrish was born in Cambridge and was educated at The Perse School and Emm ...

where he began the work that ultimately led to them becoming

Nobel Laureates The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...

. His original research in developing the technique of

flash photolysis Flash photolysis is a pump-probe laboratory technique, in which a sample is first excited by a strong pulse of light from a pulsed laser of nanosecond, picosecond, or femtosecond pulse width or by another short-pulse light source such as a fla ...

to obtain information on short-lived molecular species provided the first evidence of free radicals. His later research utilised the technique to study the detailed aspects of the

light-dependent reaction Light-dependent reactions is jargon for certain photochemical reactions that are involved in photosynthesis, the main process by which plants acquire energy. There are two light dependent reactions, the first occurs at photosystem II (PSII) and ...

s of

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

, with particular regard to possible applications to a

hydrogen economy The hydrogen economy is using hydrogen to decarbonize economic sectors which are hard to electrify, essentially, the "hard-to-abate" sectors such as cement, steel, long-haul transport etc. In order to phase out fossil fuels and limit climate ch ...

, of which he was a strong advocate. He was Assistant Director of the

British Rayon Research Association The British Rayon Research Association was a research institute formed in 1946 by the British Rayon Federation and others.The Times, November 29, 1946 page 10 It was funded by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and by voluntary fu ...

from 1953 to 1954, where he studied the

phototendering Phototendering is the process by which organic fibres and textiles lose strength and flexibility as a result of exposure to sunlight. It is the ultraviolet component of the sun's spectrum which affects fibres, causing chain degradation and hence lo ...

of dyed cellulose fabrics in sunlight. Porter served as professor in the Chemistry department at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

in 1954–65. It was here he started his work on flash photolysis with equipment designed and made in the departmental workshop. During this tenure he also took part in a television programme describing his work. This was in the "Eye on Research" series. Porter became

Fullerian Professor of Chemistry The Fullerian Chairs at the Royal Institution in London, England, were established by John 'Mad Jack' Fuller. Fullerian Professors of Chemistry * 1833 Michael Faraday * 1868 William Odling * 1874 John Hall Gladstone * 1877 James Dewar * 1923 Wi ...

and Director of the Royal Institution in 1966. During his directorship of the Royal Institution, Porter was instrumental in the setting up of Applied Photophysics, a company created to supply instrumentation based on his group's work. He was awarded the

in 1967 along with

Manfred Eigen Manfred Eigen (; 9 May 1927 – 6 February 2019) was a German biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions. Eigen's research helped solve major problems in physical chemistry and ...

and

. In the same year he became a visiting professor at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Porter was a major contributor to the

Public Understanding of science Public awareness of science (PAwS) is everything relating to the awareness, attitudes, behaviors, opinions, and activities that comprise the relations between the general public or lay society as a whole to scientific knowledge and organization. ...

. He became president of the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

in 1985 and was the founding Chair of the

Committee on the Public Understanding of Science The Committee on the Public Understanding of Science or Copus was founded in 1985 by the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS), the Royal Institution and the Royal Society. Its aim was to interpret scientific advances and make t ...

(COPUS). He gave the

Romanes Lecture The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, England. The lecture series was founded by, and named after, the biologist George Romanes, and has been running since 1892. Over the year ...

, entitled "Science and the human purpose", at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1978; and in 1988 he gave the Dimbleby Lecture, "Knowledge itself is power." From 1990 to 1993 he gave the Gresham lectures in astronomy.

Awards and honours

Porter was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1960, a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1979, a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1986, and served as

President of the Royal Society The president of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected Head of the Royal Society of London who presides over meetings of the society's council. After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was officially founded on 28 November ...

from 1985 to 1990. He was also awarded the

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 1971, the Rumford Medal in 1978, the Ellison-Cliffe Medal in 1991 and the

Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...

in 1992. Porter also received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from Heriot-Watt University in 1971. He was knighted in 1972, appointed to the Order of Merit in 1989, and was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Porter of Luddenham, of Luddenham in the County of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in 1990. In 1995, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Laws) from the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. In 1976 he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on ''The Natural History of a Sunbeam''."George Porter – Famous Experiments"
Ri Channel video, 6 December 1985 Porter served as

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

between 1984 and 1995. In 2001, the university's chemistry building was named the

George Porter Building , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_label ...

in his honour.

Family

In 1949 Porter married Stella Jean Brooke.

Publications

*''Chemistry for the Modern World'' (1962) *''Chemistry in Microtime'' (1996)

References

External links

*
Profile
– Royal Institution of Great Britain

World Scientific Publishing, 2006
Obituary in ''The Guardian'', 3 September 2002

Biographical Database of the British Chemical Community, 1880–1970

George Porter. ''JASA (

Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation ''Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith'', subtitled ''Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation'', is the academic publication of the American Scientific Affiliation. Background The ASA's original constitution provided two goals for th ...

)'' Vol. 28. March 1976. pp. 2–3.(Includes editorial responses from astronomer

Owen Gingerich Owen Jay Gingerich (; born 1930) is professor emeritus of astronomy and of the history of science at Harvard University and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. In addition to his research and teaching, he has ...

and theologian

Bernard Ramm Bernard L. Ramm (1 August 1916 in Butte, Montana – 11 August 1992 in Irvine, California) was a Baptist theologian and apologist within the broad evangelical tradition. He wrote prolifically on topics concerned with biblical hermeneutics, religio ...

amongst others.) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, George 1920 births 2002 deaths Chemists at the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Sheffield Academics of University College London Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Leeds British humanists Crossbench life peers Fellows of the Royal Society Kalinga Prize recipients Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of Merit Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Foreign Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Nobel laureates in Chemistry British Nobel laureates People associated with the University of Leicester People from Stainforth, South Yorkshire English physical chemists Presidents of the Royal Society Directors of the Royal Institution Recipients of the Copley Medal Faraday Lecturers Presidents of the British Science Association English Nobel laureates People educated at Thorne Grammar School Photochemists Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Members of the American Philosophical Society