Alexander Killen Macbeth CMG, DSc, FAA was born in Ireland on 11 August 1889 at Drumbuoy,

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

, second son of William, a butcher, and Sarah Anna. He was educated at Queen’s University Belfast, and at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he was an 1851 Exhibition Scholar. He returned to Belfast and then, in 1919, to the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

as a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry. From 1924 to 1928 he held the position of Reader in Chemistry at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. On 13 January 1928, Macbeth with his wife and two daughters sailed on the

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from London to

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. There he took up his appointment as the Angas Chair of Chemistry in the University of Adelaide, which he held until his retirement in 1954, when he was created Professor Emeritus. He held the degrees of M.A. and D.Sc. of the Queen’s University Belfast, and was elected to the Fellowship of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

in 1955. In 1946 he was awarded the CMG for his services to the University of Adelaide and to industry during the war. Macbeth’s tenure of the Adelaide Chair coincided with the depression and then with the Second World War. Nevertheless, he developed a thriving department, “starting initially with one Liebig condenser and a few flasks”. This perseverance finally resulted in a new chemistry school, which opened in 1933.

Family

Alexander Killen Macbeth married Edyth Helenea Patricia Macafee in Ireland in 1921. They had four children: Patricia Maeve, Anna Maureen, Moya H.M. and William A.G. Moya and William were born in Australia. Killen Macbeth, as he was usually known, died on 29 May 1957 in Adelaide. He is buried at Centennial Park Cemetery,

Pasadena, South Australia Pasadena is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Mitcham. History ''Panorama'' Post Office opened on 1 August 1947 and was renamed ''Pasadena'' in 1982. Facilities * Centennial Park Cemetery * Naomi Reserve * Sp ...

. His wife Edyth died on 27 August 1986 and is buried with him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macbeth, Alexander Killen 1889 births 1957 deaths Organic chemists 20th-century Irish chemists Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Irish emigrants to Australia Scientists from County Tyrone People from Strabane Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Academics of the University of St Andrews Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Academics of Durham University