Robert Runnels Williams (February 16, 1886 – October 2, 1965) was an American chemist, known for being the first to chemically fully characterize and then synthesize

thiamine Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin – an Nutrient#Micronutrients, essential micronutrient for humans and animals. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosp ...

(

vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...

B₁). He first isolated thiamine in 1933, and synthesized it in 1935, reporting this in 1936. Williams also provided the modern name "thiamine" from the molecule's sulfur atom, and it being a vitamin (a class ultimately named for the earlier-known amine of thiamine itself). Among his awards were the

Elliott Cresson Medal The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. Th ...

in 1940 and the

Perkin Medal The Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the ...

in 1947. He was elected to both the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

and the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

. His brother was Roger J. Williams, another important chemist at the time and discoverer of Vitamin B₅.

Life

He was born in

Nellore Nellore, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India.India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

missionaries. He moved to the United States when he was ten. In the early 1900s, Williams studied at

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas. It also has a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, as well as onlin ...

and eventually procured a master's degree at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1908. He then spent some time teaching in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. After returning to the United States, he worked for

Bell Telephone Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

from 1915, until he retired in 1945. A resident of

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

, Williams died there at the age of 79 on October 2, 1965.Staff
"Elizabeth Howell engaged to marry; Ex-Student at Hewlett School to Be Bride of Fergus Reid Buckley, Who Is at Yale Abrams--Rubin Williams--Wiederspahn"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 20, 1951. Accessed February 19, 2011.

Work

*1933-4 - developed a way of isolating 1/3 an ounce of thiamine from a ton of rice polishings. *1935 - Worked out its molecular structure and named it "thiamine" from its sulfur atom and amino group *1935 - Synthesized thiamine (vitamin B₁), reporting the work in 1936.

References

External links

Invent Now Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert Runnels 1886 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American chemists 20th-century American inventors People from Summit, New Jersey Vitamin researchers American expatriates in British India Members of the American Philosophical Society