Sir Ewart Ray Herbert Jones FRS (16 March 1911 – 7 May 2002) was a Welsh organic chemist and academic administrator, whose fields of expertise led him to discoveries into the chemistry of natural products, mainly steroids, terpenes and vitamins. His work also led to the creation of the Jones oxidation.

Personal life

Jones was born in Wrexham in 1911, and grew up in the small village of Rhostyllen,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

with his evangelical family. Between July 1924 and March 1927, his sister died of tuberculosis, his grandmother died and his father drowned himself. He attended Grove Park School in Wrexham, Wales and then entered the University College of North Wales, Bangor in 1929, hoping to concentrate on physics, but gained an honours degree in 1932 in Chemistry instead. He was invited to stay at the University by the head of the department, J.L. Simonsen, and stayed there for two years.

Family

In 1937, he married Frances Copp, whom he had met during their studies in Bangor. They had three children, two daughters and a son.

Career

In 1938, he became a lecturer at Imperial College of Science and Technology, London. In 1940, he was awarded the Meldola Medal and Prize by the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

. During World War II, he trained gas officers and after the war returned to Imperial College as Reader and Assistant Professor. In 1947, at the age of 36, he accepted the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and was elected to membership of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society on 1.1.1954. After experimenting with different reagents, he discovered the Jones oxidation (chromic acid oxidation of secondary alcohols to ketones in acetone). After joining the Heilbron group in Manchester, Jones was introduced to acetylene chemistry which eventually led to his work with

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...

. Later in life, he worked with the Halsall group, specifically with the hydroxypropanone molecule. In 1954, he was appointed Waynflete Professor of Organic Chemistry and head of the Dyson Perrins Laboratory at 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 ...

, a position he held until 1978.

Honours and awards

He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1950 and was knighted in 1963. He served as president of the Chemical Society (1964–1966), President of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (1970–1971) and the first President of the Royal Society of Chemistry (1980–1982). He won 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 ...

Davy Medal in 1966 "in recognition of his distinguished contributions to synthetic organic chemistry and to the elucidation of the structures of natural products".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ewart 1911 births 2002 deaths Welsh chemists People from Wrexham Knights Bachelor British organic chemists Alumni of Bangor University Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry Waynflete Professors of Chemistry