Person

Cornforth, John Warcup (1917 - 2013)

AC CBE FRS

Born
7 September 1917
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died
8 December 2013
Occupation
Chemist

Summary

Sir John Cornforth was Professor and Research Professor, University of Sussex, 1971-1982. He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1975.

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Details

Chronology

1937
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Sydney
1938
Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Sydney
1939
Award - 1851 Exhibition Overseas Scholarship, studied at Oxford.
1941
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), Oxford, England
1942 - 1946
Career position - Medical Research Council (MRC) Research Scholar, England
1946 - 1962
Career position - Scientific Staff, Medical Research Council, England
1953
Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
1953
Award - Awarded the Corday-Morgan Medal by the Chemical Society
1962 - 1975
Career position - Director, Milstead Laboratory, Shell Research Ltd, England
1965
Award - Ciba Medal, Biochemical Society
1965 - 1971
Career position - Associate Professor in Molecular Sciences, University of Warwick, England
1966
Award - Flintoff Medal, Chemical Society
1967
Award - Stouffer Prize
1968
Award - Davy Medal, The Royal Society, London
1969
Award - Ernest Guenther Award, American Chemical Society
1972
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
1972
Award - Prix Roussel
1975
Award - Australian Man of the Year
1975
Award - Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1975 - 1982
Career position - Royal Society Research Professor, University of Sussex, England
1976
Award - Royal Medal, The Royal Society, London
1977
Award - Chemical Society Award, Chemistry of Natural Products Chemical Society Award, Chemistry of Natural Products 1977
1977
Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt)
1977
Award - Corresponding member, Australian Academy of Science
1978
Award - Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences, USA
1978
Award - Foreign Member, Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences
1982
Award - Copley Medal, The Royal Society, London
1982 - 2013
Career position - Professor Emeritus, University of Sussex, England
26 January 1991
Award - Appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)
1 January 2001
Award - Awarded the Centenary Medal

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

  • Sir John Cornforth interviewed by Ann Turner for the Australians of the year oral history project [sound recording], 1995, ORAL TRC 3288; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Beale, R, 'John Warcup Cornforth' in Australia's Nobel Laureates - Adventures in Innovation (Sydney: ABIE Australian Business and Investment Explorer, 2004), pp. 94-103. Details

Journal Articles

  • Battersby, Alan R.; and Young, Douglas W., 'Sir John Warcup Cornforth AC CBE, 7 September 1917 - 8 December 2013', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 62 (2016), 19-57. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2015.0016. Details
  • Cornforth, John, 'Sir John Cornforth (1917-2013), an Autobiography', Chemistry in Australia, 81 (April) (2014), 26-7. Details
  • Kroto, Harold, 'Sir John Cornforth ('Kappa'): some personal recollections', Australian Journal of Chemistry, 68 (2015), 697-8. Details
  • Purchase, R.; and Hanson, J. R., 'Sir John and Lady Cornforth: a distinguished chemical partnership', Science Progress, 98 (3) (2015), 212-8. Details
  • Purchase, Rupert and Hanson, James R., 'Sir John Cornforth AC CBE FRS: his biosynthetic work', Science Progress, 98 (3) (2015), 230-43. Details
  • Purchase, Rupert and Hanson, James R., 'Sir John Cornforth AC CBE FRS: his synthetic work', Science Progress, 98 (3) (2015), 219-29. Details
  • Rickards, Rodney W.; and Cornforth, John, Sir, 'Arthur John Birch 1915-1995', Historical Records of Australian Science, 18 (2) (2007), 243-280, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR07010. Details
  • Ridley, Damon, 'Reflections on the life and works of Sir John W. ('Kappa') Cornforth', Australian Journal of Chemistry, 68 (2015), 538-42. Details

Newspaper Articles

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

McCarthy, G.J.

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 24 December 2013

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