Sir Gordon Ivan Hobday (1 February 1916 – 27 May 2015) was a British scientist who worked on

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

with

Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of wha ...

and is noted for his role as director of the

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

research team that developed

ibuprofen Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used to relieve pain, fever, and inflammation. This includes dysmenorrhea, painful menstrual periods, migraines, and rheumatoid arthritis. It can be taken oral administration, ...

. He later became chairman of Boots.

Biography

Hobday was born in New Sawley, Derbyshire on 1 February 1916. His father, Alexander Thomas Hobday was a

lace card A lace card (also called a whoopee card, ventilator card, flyswatter card, or IBM doily) is a punched card with all holes punched. They were mainly used as practical jokes to cause disruption in card readers. Card readers tended to jam when a lac ...

punch operator and his mother was Frances Cassandra, née Meads. He attended

Long Eaton Grammar School Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensu ...

as a child and then studied Chemistry at

University College, Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. He continued his post graduate education at the university, under a scholarship and gained a PhD in 1940. Hobday married Margaret Jean Joule on 5 October 1940 and they had one daughter together. In 1995, Margaret died and he remarried on 1 July 2002 to author Patricia Cooper, née Birge. He was the 4th

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

, of which university he was a graduate. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. Since 1694, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Nottinghamshire. * Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland 1552–1563? *Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of ...

1983–1991. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

1979 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. He died on 27 May 2015, in

King's Mill Hospital King's Mill Hospital is an acute district general hospital serving the population of north Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. It is managed by the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The majority of the hospital ...

, Sutton in Ashfield at the age of 99.

Career

Hobday joined Boots & Co as a research assistant after completing his PhD in 1940 and worked his way up through promotions. In 1952, he became head of the research department when the previous head, Jack Drummond was murdered, and re-purposed the department to find treatments for "diseases of civilisation". It was under this mindset that the department looked for an alternative treatment for

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

, due to the toxicity of

aspirin Aspirin () is the genericized trademark for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions that aspirin is ...

. The programme came up with

, which was patented in 1961. In the 1970s, it became an over-the-counter pain killer and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

put it on its list of "essential medicines". In 1968, Hobday was appointed the deputy

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

for Boots, and in 1970, he became the managing director. By 1973, he had become chairman, where he attempted a merger with

Glaxo GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, wh ...

and to buy

House of Fraser House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...

, but the

Monopolies Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...

stopped both.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobday, Gordon 1916 births 2015 deaths Alumni of the University of Nottingham Knights Bachelor Lord-lieutenants of Nottinghamshire People associated with the University of Nottingham