Robert Runnels Williams (February 16, 1886 – October 2, 1965) was an American chemist, known for being the first to chemically fully characterize and then synthesize

thiamine Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin, an essential micronutrient, that cannot be made in the body. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thi ...

(

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...

B₁). He first isolated thiamine in 1933, and synthesized it in 1935, reporting this in 1936. Williams also provided the modern name "thiamine" from the molecule's sulfur atom, and it being a vitamin (a class ultimately named for the earlier-known amine of thiamine itself). Among his awards were the Elliott Cresson Medal in 1940 and the

Perkin Medal The Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the ...

in 1947. His brother was

Roger J. Williams Roger John Williams (August 14, 1893 – February 20, 1988), was an American biochemist. He is known for is work on vitamins and human nutrition. He had leading roles in the discovery of folic acid, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, lipoic acid ...

, another important chemist at the time and discoverer of Vitamin B₅.

Life

He was born in

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most p ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

missionaries. He moved to the United States when he was ten. In the early 1900s, Williams studied at

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...

and eventually procured a master's degree at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1908. He then spent some time teaching in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. After returning to the United States, he worked for

Bell Telephone Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

from 1915, until he retired in 1945. A resident of Summit, New Jersey, Williams died there at the age of 79 on October 2, 1965.Staff
"Elizabeth Howell engaged to marry; Ex-Student at Hewlett School to Be Bride of Fergus Reid Buckley, Who Is at Yale Abrams--Rubin Williams--Wiederspahn"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', January 20, 1951. Accessed February 19, 2011.

Work

*1933-4 - developed a way of isolating 1/3 an ounce of thiamine from a ton of rice polishings. *1935 - Worked out its molecular structure and named it "thiamine" from its sulfur atom and amino group *1935 - Synthesized thiamine (vitamin B₁), reporting the work in 1936.

References

External links

Invent Now Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert Runnels 1886 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American chemists 20th-century American inventors People from Summit, New Jersey Vitamin researchers American expatriates in British India