Person
Davies, William (1895 - 1966)
- Born
- 2 February 1895
Prestwich, Lancashire, England - Died
- 23 October 1966
Malvern, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Organic chemist
Summary
William Davies was an organic chemist who was Associate Professor and then Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Melbourne between 1935 and 1961. On being appointed Lecturer in 1924 he determined to build the research capacity of the department by addressing the inadequate laboratory conditions and the training of his students. His research investigated the properties of sulphonyl flourides and vitamin chemistry, especially vitamin A in fish. During WWII his attention was on drug synthesis and toxic gas production. Later research was into carcinogenic compounds.
Details
Chronology
- 1917
- Education - BSc, Victoria University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- 1918
- Education - MSc, Victoria University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- 1921
- Education - DPhil, University of Oxford
- 1924 - 1935
- Career position - Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Melbourne
- 1929
- Education - DSc, Victoria University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- 1935 - 1953
- Career position - Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Melbourne
- 1937
- Award - Doctor of Science (DSc), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
- 1939
- Award - David Syme Research Prize, University of Melbourne
- 1953 - 1961
- Career position - Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Melbourne
- 1961
- Life event - Retired
- 1961 - 1966
- Career position - Fellow, Anti-Cancer Council
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Porter, Q. N., 'Davies, William (1895-1966), Professor of Chemistry' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 13 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 585-586. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130651b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Rae, Ian D., 'Vitamin A and Australian Fish Liver Oils', Historical Records of Australian Science, 25 (1) (2014), 55-70, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14005. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21539139. Details
- 'Davies, William (1895-1966)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467678. Details
- 'Awarded honorary DSc, 1937', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details
See also
- Radford, Joan, The Chemistry Department of the University of Melbourne: its contribution to Australian Science, 1854-1959 (Melbourne: Hawthorn Press, 1978), 314 pp. Details
Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education