Hugh Felkin (1922–2001) was a research

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1950 to 1990 and a member of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

. In 1967, he proposed a model to predict the

stereochemical Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereois ...

outcome of the addition of

nucleophile In chemistry, a nucleophile is a chemical species that forms bonds by donating an electron pair. All molecules and ions with a free pair of electrons or at least one pi bond can act as nucleophiles. Because nucleophiles donate electrons, they are ...

s to carbonylic compounds. This model (now known as the Felkin-Anh model) differs slightly from Cram's rule and it is one of the most accepted rules to predict the outcome of these reactions. He finished his career as Directeur de Recherche at the

Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles The Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles ("Institute for the chemistry of natural substances"), or ICSN, is part of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, France's most prominent public research organization. Located at Gif-su ...

in Gif-sur-Yvette. His laboratory worked on organometallic chemistry, with a special focus on organorhenium chemistry. Born in England on 18 January 1922, he spent the second world war years in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

studying chemistry. At that time the requirements for a degree were "to show sufficient knowledge in chemistry". After completing his studies, he went to France to work for the French National Centre for Scientific Research. In France he met Irène, born Elphimoff, also a research chemist, who became his wife and survived him by 9 years. They had one daughter, Mary, born in 1962. He was a member of the communist party until the communist coup in Prague in 1948. After this disappointment, his sympathies still firmly inclined towards the left, he read ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' without which he used to say he didn't know what to think. Other sayings for which he was noted were "Je suis anti-sioniste mais je n'arrive pas à être pro-arabe", and in case of any uncertainty on the part of the presenter in group meetings, "il ne s'agit pas de croire, il s'agit de savoir". Distinguished alumni of Hugh's lab include Bernard Meunier (president of the CNRS 2004-2006), Steve Davies creator of major spinouts at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and Bob Crabtree.

Publications

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References

1922 births 2001 deaths 20th-century French chemists French National Centre for Scientific Research scientists British expatriates in Switzerland British emigrants to France {{france-chemist-stub