Sir Rex Edward Richards (28 October 1922 – 15 July 2019) was a British scientist and academic. He served as

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

and as a director of the

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...

Education

Richards was educated at Colyton Grammar School, and became the first pupil from the school to attend the University of Oxford when he went up to

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

in January 1942. He was awarded a first class

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1945 and a

Doctor of Philosophy 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 Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in 1948.

Career

After graduating, Richards stayed at the university as a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

at Lincoln College from 1947 to 1964. In 1964 he succeeded Sir Cyril Hinshelwood as Dr Lee's Professor of Chemistry at Exeter College.Manuscript papers of British scientists

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

, UK. In 1969, he became

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

. Richards held the post of

vice chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the university from 1977 to 1981 and was Director of

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

(UK) Ltd from 1978 to 1983 and Director of the

from 1984 to 1993. He was president 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 ...

for two years, and the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

awarded him the

Davy Medal The Davy Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "for an outstandingly important recent discovery in any branch of chemistry". Named after Humphry Davy, the medal is awarded with a monetary gift, initially of £1000 (currently £2000). Re ...

in 1976 and the

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society. Two are given for "the mo ...

in 1986. He was knighted in 1977. He was also

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 Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

from 1982 to October 1998. A painted portrait of Richards by

Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to: *Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet *Allan Ramsay (artist) Allan Ramsay (13 October 171310 August 1784) was a Scottish portrait Painting, painter. Life and career Ramsay w ...

hangs in the Senate and Council Chamber, Northcote House,

, and another by Bryan Organ in

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. Richards chaired numerous committees concerned with higher education, including an independent enquiry to investigate factors that might deter young physicians and dentists from choosing clinical academic careers. Richards maintained an interest in the art world as well; he was a member of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

Scientific Advisory Committee from 1978 to 2007 and its chairman from 1991 to 1993. In 1981, Richards became a founding member of the

World Cultural Council The World Cultural Council is an international organization whose goals are to promote cultural values, goodwill and philanthropy among individuals. The organization founded in 1982 and based in Mexico, has held a yearly award ceremony since 198 ...

. He was trustee of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

from 1982 to 1988 and 1989–1993, of the National Gallery from 1982 to 1988 and 1989–1993, and of the

Henry Moore Foundation The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore, and to promote the public appreciation of sculpt ...

from 1989 to 2002; he was Chairman of the Moore from 1994 to 2001. He was also Chairman of the British Postgraduate Medical Foundation from 1986 to 1993. The emperor of Japan

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

mentions him in his memoir, and when Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

visited his son, then Prince Naruhito, at

, he was a very gracious warden and the emperor praised Sir Rex Richards. He was warden for only half his stay, but he was a big influence on him and his researches. Richards's research work in the physical and theoretical chemistry laboratory at Oxford was primarily concerned with

nuclear magnetic resonance Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are disturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field (in the near field) and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a ...

; the magnet from his 1956 prototype is in the collection of the

Science Museum, London The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded ...

.. His early work, leading to the award of a

DPhil 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 ...

. in 1948, was on

infrared spectroscopy Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or functio ...

and was supervised by Harold Warris Thompson.

Awards and honours

Richards was elected a Fellow of the

in 1959, a Fellow of the

in 1970, and won the

in 1976. His nomination for the Royal Society reads:

Personal life

In 1948 Richards married Eva Vago; the couple had two daughters. Eva Richards died in 2009.

References

External links

Prototype nmr magnet (1956) in the collection of the Science Museum, LondonPermanent nmr magnet (1959) in the collection of the Science Museum, London
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Rex 1922 births People from East Devon District Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Wardens of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Chancellors of the University of Exeter Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry English chemists Royal Medal winners Knights Bachelor Vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford People associated with the National Gallery, London People associated with the Tate galleries Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry Dr Lee's Professors of Chemistry Founding members of the World Cultural Council 2019 deaths Honorary Fellows of the British Academy