Person
Knight, John Langford (Jack) (1912 - 1988)
- Born
- 25 August 1912
Cressy, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 22 January 1988
Blackburn, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Chemist and Public servant
Summary
Jack Knight was a chemist whose expertise lay in explosives. After three years working on acids and explosives at Nobel (Australasia) Pty Ltd he joined the Commonwealth Department of Defence, being posted to the Explosives Factory at Maribyrnong. During WWII he was part of a mission to North America in 1942 to study the manufacture of smokeless powder, later being responsible for the establishment of a new explosives plant to make synthetic ammonia, methanol, nitric acid and nitrocellulose. Between 1958 and 1967 Knight was Controller of Explosives for the Commonwealth Department of Supply.
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Details
Chronology
- 1932
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
- 1933
- Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Melbourne
- 1933 - 1936
- Career position - Chemist, Nobel (Australasia) Pty Ltd
- 1936 - 1941
- Career position - Chemist, Explosives Factory, Maribyrnong, Victoria
- 1942 - 1945
- Career position - Assistant Manager, explosives factory, Mulwala, Victoria
- 1946
- Career position - Assistant Manager, Explosives Factory, Maribyrnong, Victoria
- 1946
- Career position - Fellow, (Royal) Australian Chemical Institute
- 1954 - 1956
- Career position - Manager, Explosives Factory, Albion, Victoria
- 1957 - 1958
- Career position - Chief Chemical Engineer, Explosives Branch, Department of Defence Production
- 1957 - 1958
- Career position - President, Society of Chemical Industry of Victoria
- 1958 - 1967
- Career position - Controller of Explosives, Department of Supply
- 1958 - 1976
- Career position - Chairman, Operational Safety Committee, Department of Supply
- 1961
- Career position - Member, Royal Society of Victoria
- 1967
- Life event - Retired
- 1977
- Award - Imperial Service Order (ISO)
Published resources
Book Sections
- Walsh, G. P., 'Knight, John Langford (1912 - 1988), chemist and public servant' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 17: 1981 - 1990 A-K, Diane Langmore, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2007), p. 631. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/knight-john-langford-jack-12746. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21536150. Details
- 'Knight, John Langford (19120825-19880122)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1772575. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 3 April 2017