Maxwell Bruce Donald (1897 - 6 January 1978) was a Ramsay professor of chemical engineering at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and a historian specialising in mining.

Early career

Donald studied at the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from t ...

and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. In 1921 he became a Sir Alfred Yarrow Scholar, before becoming a physical chemistry demonstrator for the

. He left the Royal College in 1925 to become a chemical engineer for the Chilean Nitrate Producers Association, before joining

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

in 1929 as an adviser on bitumen emulsions. In 1932, Donald joined the chemical engineering department at

as a lecturer and researcher under W. E. Gibbs. During the 1930s, Donald worked with the professor of biochemistry, Sir Jack Drummond on the isolation of

Vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...

and B from fish liver oil and wheat germ. In 1937, Donald was made honorary secretary of the

Institution of Chemical Engineers The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957. The Institution has offices in Rugby, Warwickshire, ...

. In addition, Donald was a member of the

Royal Institute of Chemistry The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation. Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland (ICGBI), its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its ai ...

Council and the Joint Library Committee of the

Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

. 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 ...

, Donald was part of the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

Inter Services Research Bureau under Dudley Newitt. He also continued to lecture, joining

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

after the bombing of the Ramsay Laboratory at UCL.

Later career

During 1947 Donald became a reader in the department at University College London. In 1950, Donald was promoted to vice president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. In 1951 Donald replaced H. E. Watson as the Ramsay professor of Chemical engineering at

. During this time the department greatly increased, with Donald overseeing the design and construction of a new building. Donald was the initial academic liaison and member of the editorial board of the journal Chemical Engineering Science which launched in October 1951. At UCL, Donald worked with Eric Mitchell Crook on developing the discipline of biochemical engineering, including the production the first

coenzyme A Coenzyme A (CoA, SHCoA, CoASH) is a coenzyme, notable for its role in the Fatty acid metabolism#Synthesis, synthesis and Fatty acid metabolism#.CE.B2-Oxidation, oxidation of fatty acids, and the oxidation of pyruvic acid, pyruvate in the citric ac ...

in Britain from yeast as part of a Medical Research Council project. With

Ernest Baldwin Ernest Hubert Francis Baldwin (29 March 1909 – 7 December 1969) was an English biochemist, textbook author and pioneer in the field of comparative biochemistry. Born in Gloucester, Baldwin attended the Crypt Grammar School followed by ...

, head of biochemistry, Donald set up a joint diploma in 1959, later a masters programme in biochemical engineering at UCL. Donald retired in 1965 and was replaced as the Ramsay professor of Chemical Engineering by P. N. Rowe.

Historian

Donald was a keen historian and published a number of works: History of the Chile nitrate industry (1936), Burchard Kranich (c. 1515–1578), miner and queens physician, Cornish mining stamps, antimony and, Frobishers gold (1950), Elizabethan Copper:The History of the Company of the Mines Royal 1568-1605 (1955) and Elizabethan Monopolies: The History of the Company of Mineral and Battery Works from 1565 to 1604 (1961). Donald was the historian of the

Society of Mines Royal The Society of the Mines Royal was one of two English mining monopoly companies incorporated by royal charter in 1568, the other being the Company of Mineral and Battery Works. History On 28 May 1568, Elizabeth I established the society by l ...

. His work on mining history was recognised by being elected a fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

. Donald had planned to restore a Cornish tin mine but due to bad health he had to abandon his plans.

Awards

In 1937, Donald won the

senior Moulton Medal. Donald was awarded the Osborne Reynolds medal in 1940, for his most meritorious long-term contribution to the progress of the Institution. The Institution of Chemical Engineers named its award for to an individual for outstanding services in biochemical engineering. The Donald Medal has been awarded by the Biochemical Engineering Special Interest Group since 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Maxwell Bruce Date of birth unknown 1897 births 1978 deaths Alumni of Imperial College London Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Academics of University College London Academics of Imperial College London British chemical engineers Chemical engineering academics Fellows of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Fellows of the Royal Historical Society