Lloyd Montgomery Pidgeon, (December 3, 1903 – December 9, 1999) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

chemist who developed the

Pidgeon process The Pidgeon process is a practical method for smelting magnesium. The most common method involves the raw material, dolomite being fed into an externally heated reduction tank and then thermally reduced to metallic magnesium using 75% ferrosilicon ...

, one of the methods of

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

metal production, via a silicothermic reduction. He is considered the "father" of academic metallurgical research in Canada.

Biography

Born in

Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in ...

, the son of E. Leslie Pidgeon, a

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

minister, and Edith Gilker, he received a Bachelor of Arts in science from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

in 1925, a Master of Science from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1927, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from McGill University in 1929. In 1929, Pidgeon was awarded a

Sir William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...

Memorial Fellowship from Oxford University and worked under Sir Alfred Egerton until 1931. In 1931, he joined the National Research Council, where he discovered the process that bears his name. Because of the demand for magnesium during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a magnesium plant was built by

Dominion Magnesium Limited Haley Industries is a Canadian company that manufactures lightweight metal castings for use in aerospace applications. It was a prime contributor to the Avro Arrow aircraft project. Origins Haley Industries (originally known as Light Alloys Limi ...

(DML) near Ottawa, and five more magnesium plants were built during the war in the US to his design. Pidgeon was appointed Director of Research by DML in 1941. In 1943, he was appointed chairman of the department of metallurgy at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He retired from that post in 1969. Pidgeon died in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

at the age of 96, the author of over 50 original scientific papers as well as the holder of a number of patents in the field of chemical metallurgy.

Honours and awards

In 1996, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

in 1943, at the same time as he was awarded the Inco Medal for contributions to Extractive Metallurgy. The next year, he was given the Civil Service Professional Association Medal and the McCharles Prize, from the University of Toronto for outstanding work in Canadian Metallurgy. In 1946, he became a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In 1967, the Alcan Medal for his contribution to the field of Metallurgy was his. He also received the Monel Medal from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

for distinguished achievements in Mineral Technology. He was inducted into the

Canadian Mining Hall of Fame The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame was conceived by Maurice R. Brown as a way to honor Canada's mine finders and builders, in recognition of accomplishments by leaders in the Canadian mining industry. The Hall was established in 1988; in 2023 it ha ...

Family

Pidgeon married Frances Rundle. They had two children.

References

1903 births 1999 deaths Canadian chemists Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire McGill University alumni Officers of the Order of Canada People from Markham, Ontario University of Manitoba alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian metallurgists Fellows of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society {{Canada-scientist-stub