George Gerald Henderson (30 January 1862 – 28 September 1942) was a chemist and professor at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. He was known for his work on

terpene Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n ≥ 2. Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predomi ...

Life

Henderson was born to a Glasgow merchant in 1862. He entered the University of Glasgow, aged 15 to study natural sciences. He graduated wit a BSc with distinction in 1881. Next he studied the arts and obtained a second degree. In 1884, he studied organic chemistry as a research assistant with

Johannes Wislicenus Johannes Wislicenus (; 24 June 18355 December 1902) was a German chemist, most famous for his work in early stereochemistry. Biography The son of the radical Protestant theologian Gustav Wislicenus, Johannes was born on 24 June 1835 in Kleine ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. In 1885, he was a research assistant with

James Johnston Dobbie Sir James Johnston Dobbie, FRS FRSE FIC FCS (4 August 1852 – 19 June 1924) was known for the isolation, chemical structure, and physical properties (especially UV and visible spectra) of alkaloids. He isolated hydroxycodeine from opium and syn ...

. He obtained an MA in Natural Science with first class honors in 1884, and a DSc in 1890 from the

. In 1884, Henderson started as an assistant to professor John Ferguson at the

. In 1889, he became a Lecturer on Chemistry at

Queen Margaret College (Glasgow) Queen Margaret College was a women-only higher education institution based in North Park House in Kelvinside, Glasgow, Scotland. History The idea of a college arose as the result of English literature lectures for women that were suggested by ...

. In 1892, he became the Freeland Professor of Chemistry at Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, where he worked to develop the chemistry department into a world class institution. He became a Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow in 1919. During his tenure at University of Glasgow, he oversaw construction of new laboratories. In 1937, Henderson was awarded the Medal of the

Society of Chemical Industry The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Offices The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...

for "conspicuous service to applied chemistry". His research was influenced by

William Dittmar William Dittmar (1833 – 1892) was a German-born scientist renowned as a chemical analyst. He was based largely in Scotland. He did much analytical work on the findings from the ''Challenger'' expedition. He was the first to confirm the Princip ...

, George Thomas Beilby, and others. In 1895, he married his cousin Agnes Mackenzie Kerr. They had no children. She died of a heart attack in 1937. In his obituary, Henderson was described as:

"of full middle height, spare of form, with brown moustache which never altered its shape in obedience to the dictates of fashion. In fact, Henderson was one of the most unchangeable of men."

Notable students and trainees

* Ian (Isidore) Morris Heilbron (research assistant, 1907) * Alexander Robertson (graduate student, 1924, Studies on the

sabinene Sabinene is a natural bicyclic monoterpene with the molecular formula C10H16. It is isolated from the essential oils of a variety of plants including Marjoram, holm oak (''Quercus ilex'') and Norway spruce (''Picea abies''). It has a strained ...

series of

terpenes Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n ≥ 2. Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predomi ...

) *

Alexander R. Todd Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron Todd (2 October 1907 – 10 January 1997) was a British biochemist whose research on the structure and synthesis of nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleotide coenzymes gained him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 195 ...

(student) *

John Monteath Robertson John Monteath Robertson (July 24, 1900 – December 27, 1989) was a Scottish chemist and crystallographer. He was the recipient of the Davy Medal in 1960 and president of the Chemical Society from 1962 to 1964. Life He was born on 24 July ...

(graduate student, 1926, The structural relationships of certain members of the bicyclic sesquiterpene series)

Service and affiliations

* President, Chemical Society (1931-1933) * President, the Institute of Chemistry (1924-1927) * President, the Society of Chemical Industry (1914-1915) * Secretary, Recorder, and President, Section B (Chemistry) of the British Association * Fellow, Royal Society (1916)

References

External links

Biography
from the University of Glasgow {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, George Gerald 1862 births 1942 deaths 19th-century Scottish chemists 20th-century Scottish chemists Academics of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Regius Professors Scientists from Glasgow