Sir John Ivan George Cadogan (8 October 1930 – 9 February 2020) was a British

organic chemist Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J. ...

Early life

Cadogan was born in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was educated at Swansea Grammar School, where he achieved State Scholar in 1948, and at King's College London, where he earned a 1st Class Honours degree as well as a PhD, and was awarded the Millar Thomson Medal, and the Samuel Smiles Prize.''Who's Who 2008'', p. 354

Interests

Cadogan was particularly interested in the popularisation of science. He calculated that he has given live lecture demonstrations to over 10,000 school children and to many more via television. He took part in the first live satellite telecast from London to New Zealand, at which time he treasured the sight of more TV vans outside the Royal Institution than even outside the Arms Park for a Wales-England match. He was a Liveryman of the Salters' Company and a director of the Salters' Institute whose considerable charitable works are dedicated to the improvement of teaching of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He was a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

Positions and memberships

From 1979 to 2002, he was Visiting Professor of Chemistry at Imperial College, London, and from 1979 to 2007, he was Honorary Professorial Fellow in Chemistry at the University of Wales, Swansea. He was Science Policy Advisor to the Science Foundation, Ireland, from its inception until 2006.

Honours

Cadogan was awarded

Honorary Doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

at the Universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh, Stirling, Aberdeen, Wales, Aix-Marseille, Cranfield, Durham, Glamorgan, Leicester, London, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent, Sunderland, and Wales and Honorary Fellowships from University of Swansea; University of Cardiff; King's College, London; Imperial College, London; and the Swansea Metropolitan University. He was also an Honorary

Fellow 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 ...

of the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2013, Cadogan was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh by

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, the Duke of Edinburgh, for his "outstanding contribution to Organic Chemistry through his research, discovery and invention, and the impact for wider academia of his work with the UK Research Councils and industry."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadogan, John 1930 births 2020 deaths Alumni of King's College London British chemists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Knights Bachelor Organic chemists People educated at Bishop Gore School Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry