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Bob Briggs (chemist)

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Bob Briggs
Born
Lindsay Heathcote Briggs

(1905-01-03)3 January 1905
Hastings, New Zealand
Died16 January 1975(1975-01-16) (aged 70)
Auckland, New Zealand
Alma mater
Known forContribution to the structure of strychnine; chemistry of New Zealand native plants
AwardsHector Medal (1943)
Scientific career
FieldsOrganic chemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Auckland
Thesis (1932)
Doctoral advisorRobert Robinson

Lindsay Heathcote "Bob" Briggs (3 January 1905 – 16 January 1975) was a New Zealand organic chemist. His research focused on "the nature and constitution of chemical compounds to be found in New Zealand native flora".[1]

Early life

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Born in Hastings in 1905,[2] Briggs was educated at Hastings District High School and Auckland Grammar School.[1][3]

Academic career

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After graduating from Auckland University College with a Master of Science with second-class honours in 1928,[4] he received funding to research manuka oil the following year,[5] and undertook independent research at Massey Agricultural College[1] from 1929 to 1930. He became a Fellow of the Chemical Society in London in 1929.[1]

He then went to the Dyson Perrins Laboratory at Oxford University for a PhD under Robert Robinson, investigating the chemical structure of strychnine.[2] He was awarded his doctorate in 1932 and returned to Auckland, where he was appointed as a lecturer in organic chemistry in 1933,[3] and remained a member of their staff until his death.[1]

In 1941 he was awarded a DSc from Auckland University College.[4] He was a member of the Auckland Institute and Museum, and was its President from 1952 to 1955.[1] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1942[6] and served as its president from 1956 to 1958.[7][1] He was a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, received the ICI Prize and Medal in 1949,[8] and became its president in 1959.[1] He was awarded the Hector Medal by the society in 1943.[9] In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[10] He was also president of the Auckland Science Teachers Association and the Auckland Referees Association.[1]

He was also an active member of the Auckland University field club.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cambie, R. C.; de la Mare, P. B. D. (1975). "ANNOUNCEMENT: Proposed L. H. Briggs Memorial Prize: Appeal for Contributions". Tetrahedron. 31 (11?): 1352.
  2. ^ a b McLintock, A.H., ed. (1966). "Briggs, Lindsay Heathcote". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Chemistry lecturer". New Zealand Herald. 27 March 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Bri–By". Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Scientific research". Evening Post. 5 March 1929. p. 10. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  6. ^ "The academy: A–C". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand". Royal Society of New Zealand. 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  8. ^ "NZIC Award Winners List". NZ Institute of Chemistry. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Hector Medal". Royal Society of New Zealand. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Coronation Medal" (PDF). Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette. No. 37. 3 July 1953. pp. 1021–1035. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  11. ^ Millener, Laurie (1975). "Obituary – Professor L.H. Briggs" (PDF). Tane: The Journal of the Auckland University Field Club. 21: 175–176. Retrieved 20 August 2014.


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