Brigadier-General Sir Harold Brewer Hartley (3 September 1878 – 9 September 1972) was a British

physical chemist Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

. He moved from academia to important positions in business and industry, including serving as Chairman of the

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

Early life

He was the only child of the collector and bibliophile Harold T. Hartley (1851–1943). His mother died in 1884 when he was a young child and his father later remarried. The future academic was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

,Dulwich College Web Site – Old Alleynians: Eminent Old Alleynians: Science & Medicine
and Balliol College, Oxford. As a tutor at Balliol, he supervised the research of

Edmund Bowen Edmund ("Ted") John Bowen FRS (29 April 1898 – 19 November 1980) was a British physical chemist. Life Born in Worcester, England, E. J. Bowen attended the Royal Grammar School Worcester. He won the Brackenbury Scholarship in 1915 and 191 ...

and

Cyril Hinshelwood Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (19 June 1897 – 9 October 1967) was a British physical chemist and expert in chemical kinetics. His work in reaction mechanisms earned the 1956 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Education Born in London, his parents we ...

First World War

Hartley served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

Honours

He was appointed an Officer 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 o ...

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

. He was Bedford Lecturer in

Physical Chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistica ...

, at Balliol College,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He was knighted in 1928, made KCVO in 1944, GCVO in 1957 and Companion of Honour in 1967. He was elected 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 knowledge, including mathemat ...

in May 1926. His candidacy citation read: He gave the address "Man's Use of Energy" as president of the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

for 1949–1950. He received the

Hoover Medal The Hoover Medal is an American engineering prize. It has been given since 1930 for "outstanding extra-career services by engineers to humanity". The prize is given jointly by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Institute of Mi ...

in 1968.

Family

Hartley was married in 1906 to Gertrude, eldest daughter of

Arthur Lionel Smith Arthur Lionel Smith (1850 – 12 April 1924) was a British historian at the University of Oxford. Smith served as Master of Balliol College, Oxford, from 1916 to 1924. Early life Smith was born on 4 December 1850. He studied at Balliol College, ...

, who was later

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Balliol College. They had one son and one daughter.

Gallery

References

External links

The Papers of Sir Harold Hartley
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Harold 1878 births 1972 deaths British Army brigadiers Military personnel from London Scientists from London People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford English physical chemists Recipients of the Military Cross Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Fellows of the Royal Society British Army generals of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People of the British Overseas Airways Corporation Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers