Hugh Felkin (1922–2001) was a research

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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from 1950 to 1990 and a member of 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 ...

. In 1967, he proposed a model to predict the

stereochemical Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, studies the spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereoisomers, which are defined ...

outcome of the addition of

nucleophile In chemistry, a nucleophile is a chemical species that forms bonds by donating an electron pair. All molecules and ions with a free pair of electrons or at least one pi bond can act as nucleophiles. Because nucleophiles donate electrons, they are ...

s to carbonylic compounds. This model (now known as the Felkin-Anh model) differs slightly from

Cram's rule Asymmetric induction describes the preferential formation in a chemical reaction of one enantiomer (enantioinduction) or diastereoisomer (diastereoinduction) over the other as a result of the influence of a optical isomerism, chiral feature prese ...

and it is one of the most accepted rules to predict the outcome of these reactions. He finished his career as Directeur de Recherche at the

Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles The Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles ("Institute for the chemistry of natural substances"), or ICSN, is part of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, France's most prominent public research organization. Located at Gif-s ...

in Gif-sur-Yvette. His laboratory worked on organometallic chemistry, with a special focus on organorhenium chemistry. Born in England on 18 January 1922, he spent the second world war years in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

studying chemistry. At that time the requirements for a degree were "to show sufficient knowledge in chemistry". After completing his studies, he went to France to work for the

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

. In France he met Irène, born Elphimoff, also a research chemist, who became his wife and survived him by 9 years. They had one daughter, Mary, born in 1962. He was a member of the communist party until the communist coup in Prague in 1948. After this disappointment, his sympathies still firmly inclined towards the left, he read ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' without which he used to say he didn't know what to think. Other sayings for which he was noted were "Je suis anti-sioniste mais je n'arrive pas à être pro-arabe", and in case of any uncertainty on the part of the presenter in group meetings, "il ne s'agit pas de croire, il s'agit de savoir". Distinguished alumni of Hugh's lab include

Bernard Meunier Bernard Meunier (born 11 March 1947) is a French chemist and academic. He has been a member of the French Academy of Sciences, Académie des sciences since 1999. Career After a doctorate at the University of Montpellier in November 1971 under t ...

(president of the CNRS 2004-2006), Steve Davies creator of major spinouts at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and Bob Crabtree.

Publications

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References

1922 births 2001 deaths 20th-century French chemists French National Centre for Scientific Research scientists British expatriates in Switzerland British emigrants to France {{france-chemist-stub