HEILBRON, SIR IAN MORRIS

HEILBRON, SIR IAN MORRIS (1886–1959), British organic chemist. Born in Glasgow, he joined the staff of the Royal Technical College there. In World War I he was assistant director of supplies in Salonika. In 1920 he was appointed to the chair of organic chemistry at Liverpool University. In 1933 he became professor at Manchester University, and in 1937 professor of organic chemistry at Imperial College, London. In World War II he acted as scientific adviser to the Ministries of Supply and Production. In 1949 he resigned his chair to become the first director of the research association of the brewing industry. Heilbron's original publications deal mainly with a broad range of natural product chemistry. He was a pioneer in the steroid field, cholesterol, ergosterol, fucosterol, and others. He elucidated the structure of Vitamin A, isolated vitamin A2 and worked on Vitamin D2 and the synthesis of Vitamin A. He also worked on the chemistry of penicillin. His studies extended to polyenes and to acetylenic compounds and other fields of organic chemistry. With H.M. Bunbury he produced the monumental Dictionary of Organic Compounds. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a recipient of its Royal Medal, and president of the Chemical Society, 1948–50. (Samuel Aaron Miller)