Athelstan Laurence Johnson Beckwith (20 February 1930 – 15 May 2010) was an Australian

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

. He was a

fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...

Life

He earned a BSc, from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

in 1952, and DPhil, from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1956. In 1960, he won the

Rennie Memorial Medal The Rennie Memorial Medal is an Australian National Award that is awarded annually to a financial member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute with less than 8 years of professional experience since completing their most recent relevant qua ...

. In 1961, he won a Nuffield Scholarship to study with Sir

Derek Barton Sir Derek Harold Richard Barton (8 September 1918 – 16 March 1998) was an English organic chemist and Nobel Prize laureate for 1969. Education and early life Barton was born in Gravesend, Kent, to William Thomas and Maude Henrietta Barton ...

. He taught at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. He was Professor of Organic Chemistry at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, from 1981 to 1995. In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for "service to science in the field of organic chemistry as a leading researcher and academic, and through the provision of advice to government and the wider community on scientific matters".

Family

He was married; they had three children.

References

External links

*http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6821.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, Athelstan 1930 births 2010 deaths Australian chemists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Officers of the Order of Australia