John Wilfrid Linnett FRS (3 August 1913 – 7 November 1975) was Vice-Chancellor at 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 ...

from 1973 to 1975. He was for many years a Fellow of the

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, and a demonstrator in Inorganic Chemistry 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 ...

Education

He was born on 3 August 1913 in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and educated at King Henry VIII School and St John's College,

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

, and was later a Junior Fellow there.

Academic career

He was appointed Professor of Physical Chemistry at

Cambridge University , 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 1965. He was Master of

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

, on the Council of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, and was President of the

Faraday Society The Faraday Society was a British society for the study of physical chemistry, founded in 1903 and named in honour of Michael Faraday. In 1980, it merged with several similar organisations, including the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chem ...

. Throughout his career as a chemist, he was noted for his wide interests, making substantial contributions in

theoretical chemistry Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface o ...

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is use ...

, explosion limits, atom recombination reactions, combustion, and several other areas.

Octet rule

In 1960, Linnett originated a modification to the

octet rule The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that reflects the theory that main-group elements tend to bond in such a way that each atom has eight electrons in its valence shell, giving it the same electronic configuration as a noble gas. The rule i ...

, originally proposed by

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, concerning

valence electrons In chemistry and physics, a valence electron is an electron in the outer shell associated with an atom, and that can participate in the formation of a chemical bond if the outer shell is not closed. In a single covalent bond, a shared pair forms ...

. He proposed that the octet should be considered as a double quartet of electrons rather than as four pairs, and hence the theory became known as "

Linnett double-quartet theory Linnett double-quartet theory (LDQ) is a method of describing the Covalent bond, bonding in molecules which involves separating the electrons depending on their Electron spin, spin, placing them into separate 'spin tetrahedra' to minimise the Pauli ...

". Using this method, he was able to explain the stability of 'odd electron' molecules such as nitric oxide and oxygen. This theory was set out in a book "The Electronic Structure of Molecules: A New Approach", published by Methuen & Co Ltd, London, 1964. His general book "Wave Mechanics and Valency" also published by Methuen & Co Ltd, London, appeared in 1960.

Death

He died of a heart attack in the

Athenaeum Club, London The Athenaeum is a private members' club in London, founded in 1824. It is primarily a club for men and women with intellectual interests, and particularly (but not exclusively) for those who have attained some distinction in science, engineerin ...

, on 7 November 1975, only five weeks after ceasing to be Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. The John Wilfrid Linnett Visiting Professor of Chemistry was established in his memory in 1993 at the University of Cambridge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linnett, John Wilfrid 1913 births 1975 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society English chemists Mass spectrometrists Theoretical chemists Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Masters of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Professors of Physical Chemistry (Cambridge)