John Reader Hosking (11 July 1896 – 14 October 1946) was a New Zealand natural products chemist.

Biography

The son of John Henry Hosking, a judge, Hosking was born in Dunedin in 1896. He was part of the 5th (Wellington) Regiment in the Samoan Advance Party at the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He rejoined the effort via the Australian forces in Sydney as an

Acting Bombardier Bombardier () is a military rank that has existed since the 16th century in artillery regiments of various armies, such as in the British Army and the Prussian Army. Traditionally the bombardier tended the vents at the top of breeches, handled ...

. He gained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Auckland University College The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loca ...

, graduating in 1927. In 1930 Hosking returned to New Zealand from Europe and started working at the

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

under

Ernest Marsden Sir Ernest Marsden (19 February 1889 – 15 December 1970) was an English-New Zealand physicist. He is recognised internationally for his contributions to science while working under Ernest Rutherford, which led to the discovery of new theories ...

. Hosking won the

Hector Medal The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal, is a science award given by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different science ...

, the highest award of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

in 1937, the award was forwarded to him in the United Kingdom, where he had returned. Hosking died on 14 October 1946 at his home in

Hedgerley Hedgerley is a village and civil parish in South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. The parish is centred south-east of Beaconsfield and south-west of Gerrards Cross. The parish has incorporated the formerly separate parish of Hedge ...

, Buckinghamshire.

References

1896 births 1946 deaths Scientists from Dunedin New Zealand chemists New Zealand military personnel of World War I Australian military personnel of World War I People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand) 20th-century New Zealand chemists {{NewZealand-academic-bio-stub