Victor Gold FRS FRSC (29 June 1922 – 29 September 1985) was a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

who served on the faculty of

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. Gold was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, the son of lawyer Oscar Gold and his first wife, the former Emmy Kopperl. He was raised primarily by his mother. Gold arrived in England, at Croydon aerodrome, in the spring of 1938, aged 15. His entry to the UK had been arranged by his uncle Max Gold (father of

Thomas Gold Thomas Gold (May 22, 1920 – June 22, 2004) was an Austrian-born astrophysicist, who also held British and American citizenship. He was a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a Fe ...

, FRS). He was sent, with a cousin, to

Loughborough College Overview Loughborough College is a large general further education college in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It provides both further education (FE) and higher education (HE) courses on a single campus. The colleg ...

to learn English and work in the engineering workshops (probably with Herbert Schofield). By the autumn of 1939, Gold had gained a place at University College (transferred to King’s and Bristol, because of the war) to study chemistry, but the following summer all Austrian and German aliens were interned, mostly in

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas (, ) is the Capital (political), capital city and largest settlement of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021) and an area of . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, Isle of Man, River Douglas, and on a sweepi ...

. In the camp Gold met Hans Pelzer, one of the founders of

transition state theory In chemistry, transition state theory (TST) explains the reaction rates of elementary chemical reactions. The theory assumes a special type of chemical equilibrium (quasi-equilibrium) between reactants and activated transition state complexes. ...

, who taught Victor some

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

. Gold was released from internment in December 1940, and joined UCL, now in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

; Bristol was out of bounds for him. After a poor start he gained a first-class honours degree, largely thanks to the encouragement of Sir Christopher Ingold. In 1944, Gold was appointed Demonstrator at King’s, now back in the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

. He remained at King’s for the rest of his life. Milestones along the way were: (1946) Assistant Lecturer
(1947) Lecturer
(1956) Reader in Physical Organic Chemistry
(1964) Professor of Chemistry
(1971) Head of Department
(1975) Fellowship of King’s College
(1978) Dean of the Faculty of Natural ScienceColin Archibald Russell and Gerrylynn K. Roberts (2005
Chemical history: reviews of the recent literature
Royal Society of Chemistry, , Gold's specialty was

physical organic chemistry Physical organic chemistry, a term coined by Louis Hammett in 1940, refers to a discipline of organic chemistry that focuses on the relationship between chemical structures and chemical reaction, reactivity, in particular, applying experimental to ...

. His research focused on the kinetics of organic

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

s. He established the ''Advances in Physical Organic Chemistry'' publication series in 1963 and edited it for many years. He initiated the development of the IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, which is published with a gold-colored cover and is known as the "Gold Book" in recognition of his work as its first author and compiler.From the Editor
Chemistry International, Vol. 28 No. 6, November–December 2006 Gold was elected a Fellow of 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 ...

in 1972. Ten years after his appointment at King’s, Gold married Jean Sandiford, who had read chemistry at King’s. They had two children: Elizabeth Helen in 1957, and Martin in 1959. Victor Gold, whose home was in

South Croydon South Croydon in south London is the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon and running as far south as the former Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded by Waddon to the West and Selsdon and Sanderstead to the E ...

, died on 29 September 1985.

Publication

*''pH Measurements: Their Theory and Practice'', Metheun & Co., London, 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Victor 1922 births 1985 deaths Alumni of King's College London Alumni of University College London Academics of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry British chemists People interned in the Isle of Man during World War II Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom