John William Tranter Spinks, (January 1, 1908 – March 27, 1997) was the President of the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 1960 to 1975.

Biography

Born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

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 ...

he received a BSc (1928) and his doctor of philosophy degree (Ph.D.) in chemistry (1930) from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. He emigrated to Canada in 1930 to join the chemistry faculty of the

as an assistant professor and was promoted to professor in 1938, head of the Department of Chemistry in 1948, and dean of the college of Graduate Studies in 1949. He was appointed President in 1960. During his tenure, the university grew from 4,500 to 13,500 full-time students. He spent the 1933-34 academic year at the University of Darmstadt, Germany, where he first met Dr. Gerhard Herzberg and helped him emigrate to Canada. During

World War II 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 ...

, he developed search and rescue procedures for missing aircraft and was appointed

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

. After the war, he pioneered the use of radioactive isotopes in agricultural and chemical research. He married Mary Strelioff in 1939. He died in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

in 1997. The University of Saskatchewan

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computer labs were named the Spinks Labs.

Honours

* In 1970 he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. * In 1982 he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame * In 1985 he was named Saskatoon's Citizen of the Year. * In 1996 he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.

References

John William Tranter Spinks
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

John William Tranter Spinks
at The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan Honorary Degree citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinks, John 1908 births 1997 deaths Alumni of King's College London British chemists Companions of the Order of Canada Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit People from Norfolk Presidents of the University of Saskatchewan Academic staff of Technische Universität Darmstadt British emigrants to Canada