Edgar William Richard Steacie (December 25, 1900 – August 28, 1962) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

physical chemist and president of the

National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada (NRC; ) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research and development. It is the largest federal research and development organization in Canada. Th ...

from 1952 to 1962.

Education

Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, the only child of Richard Steacie and Alice Kate McWood, he studied a year at the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

. In 1923, he received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree and his Ph.D. in 1926 from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Career

From 1926 to 1939, Steacie taught at McGill University. In 1939, he joined the National Research Council as director of the division of chemistry. In 1950, he became vice-president (scientific) and, in 1952, president.

Awards and honours

Steacie 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for his contributions during the Second World War. From 1954 to 1955, he was the president of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

. In 1961, he was elected president of the

International Council of Scientific Unions The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members ...

. He was president of the

Faraday Society The Faraday Society was a British society for the study of physical chemistry, founded in 1903 and named in honour of Michael Faraday. In 1980, it merged with several similar organisations, including the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Che ...

. He was a foreign associate of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

. He was an honorary Fellow of the

Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

. In 1948, he was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was awarded the

Henry Marshall Tory Medal The Henry Marshall Tory Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des scienc ...

in 1955. He is a member of the

Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, was located at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, honoured Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to society in science and engineering. It also promoted role m ...

.The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame: The Hall
, Canada Science and Technology Museum. The Steacie Science and Engineering Library at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, the Steacie Building for Chemistry at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

, the

NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...

E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, and the

Steacie Prize The Steacie Prize is a scientific prize awarded to a scientist or engineer of 40 years or younger for outstanding research in Canada. The Steacie Prize is advertised as Canada’s most prestigious early career award. It was first awarded in 1964, t ...

are named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steacie, Edgar 1900 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Canadian chemists 20th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences McGill University alumni Academic staff of McGill University Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Scientists from Montreal Royal Military College of Canada alumni Anglophone Quebec people