Difference between revisions of "Reginald Oswald Gibson"
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1926 joined [[Brunner, Mond and Co]]. as a research chemist at Winnington in Cheshire | 1926 joined [[Brunner, Mond and Co]]. as a research chemist at Winnington in Cheshire | ||
1928 seconded to work with Anton Michels at the University of Amsterdam on the properties of gases at high pressures. | |||
1931 returned to Winnington working on the chemical effects of high pressures where he worked Eric William Fawcett (1908–1987). | |||
1933 they set up an experiment in which ethylene and benzaldehyde were pressurized to 1900 atmospheres at 170°C in the hope that they would combine together. They did not, but when the apparatus was dismantled later Fawcett noticed that the tip of a steel tube was coated with a waxy substance. This small deposit, less than half a gram, was the first solid polymer of ethylene ever made, i.e. polyethylene (which went into production in 1939 after the work was taken over by a different team). | |||
1937 Gibson married Lesley Shena Randles. They had a daughter and two sons. | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
Revision as of 12:24, 3 December 2021
Reginald Oswald Gibson (1902–1983), chemist
1902 Born in Dulwich, the only child of Samuel Gibson, civil servant, and his wife, Ethel Crowther.
1921 Entered the honours school of chemistry at University College, London. He obtained a first-class BSc degree
1925 Took up a junior research post at Leiden University.
1926 joined Brunner, Mond and Co. as a research chemist at Winnington in Cheshire
1928 seconded to work with Anton Michels at the University of Amsterdam on the properties of gases at high pressures.
1931 returned to Winnington working on the chemical effects of high pressures where he worked Eric William Fawcett (1908–1987).
1933 they set up an experiment in which ethylene and benzaldehyde were pressurized to 1900 atmospheres at 170°C in the hope that they would combine together. They did not, but when the apparatus was dismantled later Fawcett noticed that the tip of a steel tube was coated with a waxy substance. This small deposit, less than half a gram, was the first solid polymer of ethylene ever made, i.e. polyethylene (which went into production in 1939 after the work was taken over by a different team).
1937 Gibson married Lesley Shena Randles. They had a daughter and two sons.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Biography, ODNB