Harry Irving (chemist)

Harry Munroe Napier Hetherington Irving (19 November 1905 in Oxford[1] – 20 June 1993 in Cape Town[2]), often cited as H. M. N. H. Irving, was a British chemist.

Harry Munroe Napier Hetherington Irving
Born(1905-11-19)19 November 1905
Oxford, England
Died20 June 1993(1993-06-20) (aged 87)
Cape Town, South Africa
NationalityBritish
Alma materThe Queen's College, Oxford
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Oxford
University of Leeds
University of Cape Town

Education

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As a student as The Queen's College, Oxford, Irving received a BA in 1928 and a DPhil in 1930, the same year he received his Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music. In 1954, he was awarded a DSc.[1]

Career

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Irving was a lecturer and demonstrator in chemistry at Oxford University from 1930 to 1961. He was also the Vice Principal of St Edmund Hall.[3]: 163 

During the 1940s he began research into coordination chemistry.[1] In 1953, Irving and his doctoral student Robert Williams described a periodic trend now known as the Irving–Williams Series.[4]

Irving was Professor of Inorganic and Structural Chemistry at the University of Leeds between 1961 and 1971[5] and Professor of Analytical Science at the University of Cape Town between 1979 and 1985.[1]

Private life

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Irving was a Freemason under the United Grand Lodge of England. Initiated in the Churchill Lodge No 478 (Oxford), he later joined the Apollo University Lodge No 357 (Oxford),[3]: 163  to which he was proposed by fellow Oxford scientist Bertram Maurice Hobby.[3]: 163  Irving served at different times as Worshipful Master of both lodges.

Books authored

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  • H. M. N. H. Irving, H. Freiser and T. S. West, Compendium of analytical nomenclature : definitive rules, Pergamon Press 1977
  • H. M. N. H. Irving, The Techniques of Analytical Chemistry: Short Historical Survey, Science Museum 1974
  • H. M. N. H. Irving, Dithizone, Royal Society of Chemistry, 1977
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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hutton, A. T. (January 1994). "Harry Irving Hon. FRSSAf". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 49 (2): 256–258. doi:10.1080/00359199409520314.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Harry Irving". The Independent. 16 July 1993. Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Crook, Joe Mordaunt; Daniel, James W (2019). Oxford Freemasons: A Social History of Apollo University Lodge (First ed.). Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. ISBN 978-1-85124-467-6.
  4. ^ Irving, H. M. N. H.; Williams, R. J. P. (1953). "The stability of transition-metal complexes". J. Chem. Soc.: 3192–3210. doi:10.1039/JR9530003192.
  5. ^ University of Leeds, Calendar, 1961-62, page 162