William Robert Boon FRS FRSC (20 March 1911 – 28 October 1994) was a British chemist, known for developing the

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

paraquat.

Early life

He was educated at

St Dunstan's College St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference a ...

and

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 ...

(BSc; PhD).

Career

ICI

He developed

Bipyridine Bipyridines also known as bipyridyls, dipyridyls, and dipyridines, are a family of chemical compounds with the formula (C5H4N)2, consisting of two pyridyl (C5H4N) rings. Pyridine is an aromatic nitrogen-containing heterocycle. Bipyridines are of sig ...

compounds (

4,4'-Bipyridine 4,4′-Bipyridine (abbreviated to 4,4′-bipy or 4,4′-bpy) is an organic compound with the formula . It is one of several isomers of bipyridine. It is a colorless solid that is soluble in organic solvents. is mainly used as a precursor to ''N ...

) in 1954 at ICI's Jealott's Hill Experimental Station ( Plant Protection Limited) at

Jealott's Hill Jealott's Hill is a village in the county of Berkshire, England, within the civil parish of Warfield. The settlement is on the A3095 road approximately north of Bracknell. The nearest railway station is in . The name of the hill is reported to ...

(

Warfield Warfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire and the borough of Bracknell Forest. History Warfield was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement and is recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Warwelt'' ic The name is beli ...

) in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(

Bracknell Forest Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority area in Berkshire, southern England. It covers the two towns of Bracknell and Sandhurst and the village of Crowthorne and also includes the areas of North Ascot, Warfield and Winkfield. The borough bor ...

). These compounds are known as Paraquat-Gramoxone and Diquat, being released onto the market in 1958.

Awards

He was awarded the

Mullard Award The Mullard Award is awarded annually by the Royal Society to a person who has "an outstanding academic record in any field of natural science, engineering or technology and whose contribution is currently making or has the potential to make a co ...

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 ...

in 1972 and was made a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1974. He was also a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) is an award conferred by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom. FRSC award Achieving Fellow status in the chemical profession denotes to the wider community a high level of ...

and a

Fellow of 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boon, William Robert 1911 births 1994 deaths Alumni of King's College London British chemists Fellows of King's College London Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Imperial Chemical Industries people People educated at St Dunstan's College Pesticides in the United Kingdom