Barton, Derek Harold Richard

Barton, Derek Harold Richard (Sir)

20th Century
Born: Gravesend (England), 1918
Died: College Station, Texas (US), 1998
Barton obtained his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the Imperial College, London in 1942 and in 1945 joined the faculty. In 1950 he published his work on the relationship of the three-dimensional structure of organic compounds in relation to their chemical properties. This concept of conformational analysis changed dramatically the nature of organic chemistry research. For this breakthrough effort Barton was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1969 (sharing the prize with Odd Hassel). Barton continued his work on the synthesis of natural products and the development of new synthetic reactions.

  Obituary: Professor Sir Derek H. R. Barton (1918-1998)
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