William Percival Evans (22 November 1864 – 2 September 1959) was a New Zealand

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 t ...

who specialised in the study of local

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

Biography

Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia to an English vicar, Evans moved to New Zealand with his family and they settled at

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, south of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. He was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 1876 to 1880,''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition (CD-ROM). and then studied chemistry and mathematics at

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

, from where he graduated MA with first class honours in 1885. He completed a PhD in chemistry at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

in Germany. Evans was a school teacher at Christ's College from 1892 to 1902 and in 1901 was appointed as a lecturer in chemistry and physics at Canterbury University College, rising to the rank of professor of chemistry. During his time there he was instrumental in preventing women from studying advanced chemistry. Jean Struthers, who studied botany instead, recalled that she was prevented from enrolling for chemistry because Evans "did not consider it a suitable subject for girls: there was too much standing, it was too strenuous, and hewould have been the only girl. In addition, there was only one toilet in the Department." He established a research group to investigate New Zealand lignite. He retired as professor emeritus in 1922 and moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. Following his retirement, Evans remained active as a scientist and administrator, serving on the senate of the

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

from 1931 to 1945. Elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in 1930, he was awarded the society's

Hector Medal The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal, is a science award given by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different science ...

in 1931 and served as president from 1937 to 1938. He was the foundation president of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, and was elected as that body's first honorary fellow in 1944. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1956 New Year Honours. Evans married Christiana Mayo Kebbell in Wellington on 28 December 1893. He died in 1959 and his ashes were buried in

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first crema ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, William Percival 1864 births 1959 deaths Academics from Melbourne Australian emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Nelson College University of Canterbury alumni University of Giessen alumni New Zealand chemists New Zealand physicists Academic staff of the University of Canterbury Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Karori Cemetery 20th-century New Zealand scientists